The next 100 days will be critical.
As the Biden-Harris administration takes office, we are making sure clean water and healthy rivers are a top priority.
This is no time to back down, to relax, to let down our guard. A new administration doesn’t mean threats to rivers and drinking water disappear. Now is the time to get to work.
We recognize the historic opportunity before us, to restore our rivers and clean water as we rebuild our nation and economy from the ravages of COVID-19, while also repairing the damage done to rivers and clean water over the past four years. The facts in front of us are stark:
- Millions of people in the U.S. lack access to clean, safe, affordable water.
- Forty-four percent of assessed waterways in the U.S. are too polluted for fishing and swimming, and forty percent of North America’s freshwater species are at risk of extinction.
- Climate change is bringing more severe droughts and floods, putting intense pressure on water resources across the country and disproportionately impacting Black, Latino and Indigenous communities.
The Biden-Harris administration has announced that they will focus on the core issues of justice, the economy, public health and climate change. Rivers run through each of these issues, and can be part of the solutions that strengthen our communities and our nation. This is why we’re declaring the first 100 days of the new administration as 100 Days for Rivers.
Our 2021 Blueprint for Action includes:
More on Clean Water
-> What Biden’s infrastructure plan means for rivers
-> America’s Infrastructure gets a C-
-> Jackson water crisis exposes water inequities
More on Regulatory Rollbacks
-> President Biden Executive Orders Rollback of Anti-Environmental Regulatory Actions
-> Trump Administration Goes After Clean Water Act
-> River protection at the national level: A look back at 2019 and what’s ahead in 2020
More on Flooding
-> Biden Administration Takes First Step Towards Flood Resilience
-> Healthy Floodplains Reduce Nutrient Pollution
-> Flooding and injustice are deeply linked — particularly during a pandemic
More on Dam Removal
-> 69 Dams Removed in 2020
-> A bold plan for salmon, clean energy and jobs in the Pacific Northwest
-> A historic milestone for the Klamath River
More on Wild and Scenic Rivers
-> How the Biden Administration Can Save More Rivers
-> Is Your River Being Considered for Wild and Scenic Protection?
-> Everything you need to know about Oregon’s River Democracy Act