Forest Source Water Protection

Protecting the drinking water provided by our forests

Forests are some of the nation’s most valuable natural systems, covering one-third of the country’s land area – 750 million acres. Traditionally forests have been viewed as providers of important natural and social resources, such as timber production, recreation, and fish and wildlife habitat. However, one of the most overlooked benefits of forests is their role in providing clean drinking water to communities across the U.S. Eighty percent of the nation’s freshwater originates on forest lands, and forests provide almost two-thirds of the nation’s drinking water supply to 183 million Americans. Water is arguably the most important good/service from our forests.

Unfortunately the country’s forests and their watersheds are significantly threatened by climate change, extensive timber harvesting, mining, agriculture, and development pressures. These threats directly impact drinking water quality and water quantity that comes from forested watersheds, costing cities, local communities and the public millions of dollars. Yet there are only a handful of municipalities and communities who actively protect their forested watersheds. Cities like New York, Portland (OR), Seattle, and Boston have decided to protect their forested watersheds instead of paying the high costs associated with building water treatment plants. These cities and other examples around the country illustrate the direct economic benefit of forest source water protection.

However, the opportunity still exists to protect our drinking water, providing ecological and economic benefits to those communities that choose this path.  In particular, the 193 million acres of the U.S. Forest Service’s National Forest System are especially important water supply systems – they provide drinking water to 60 million people. Many of these forests are not always directly managed to protect drinking water quality, nor are the lands surrounding these forests.

American Rivers is working to prioritize forest source water protection federally in our National Forests, as well as among state and private forest owners. We hope that certain economic incentives, policy changes, and long-term stewardship can help protect and restore our forest drinking water sources and make them more resilient in the face of climate change. By working with the U.S. Forest Service and private landowners to find a balance between economic gain and ecological benefits, we believe that more communities will recognize the value of forested watersheds. We are currently initiating two pilot projects in the Northwest and Southeast that will demonstrate the value of source water protection, and we will use these to educate communities and the public about this important issue.

Links for more information:

• The Forest Service and water
• The Forest Service: Climate change and water (PDF)
• Forests, Water and People in the Eastern U.S.
• Learn more about water supply protection in our California meadow restoration work