WHY CLEAN WATER IS IMPORTANT

Millions of Americans enjoy fishing, hunting, and recreation around water, whether it is fishing at a 

stream, kayaking on a river, or surfing in the ocean. Consider that each year about 33 million Americans 

go fishing and about 19 million people go paddling in kayaks, canoes, rafts, or standup paddleboards. 

Pollution in the water can be a threat to our health and the health of our family and friends. America’s 

cherished way of life depends on clean water: healthy ecosystems provide wildlife habitat and places to 

fish, hunt, paddle, surf, and swim. The water flowing from streams and wetlands ends up in rivers, lakes, 

and bays. We all live, work, and play downstream and need the water to be clean. Streams and wetlands 

filter pollution and provide habitat for fish and wildlife. Protecting upstream waters is also critical to 

protecting national treasures like the Chesapeake Bay, Puget Sound, Great Lakes, and Mississippi River.

WHAT IS THE CLEAN WATER RULE

Protection for about 60 percent of the nation’s streams and millions of acres of wetlands has been 

confusing and complex after Supreme Court decisions in 2001 and 2006. The Clean Water Rule protects 

the streams and wetlands that are scientifically shown to have the greatest impact on downstream 

water quality and form the foundation of our nation’s water resources. EPA and the U.S. Army are 

ensuring that waters protected under the Clean Water Act are more precisely defined, easier for 

businesses and industry to understand, and consistent with the law and the latest science. The rule does

not protect any types of waters that have not historically been covered by the Clean Water Act. It also 

does not interfere with or change private property rights, or address land use.

FISHING AND HUNTING DEPEND ON CLEAN WATER 

About 33 million Americans go fishing each year, spending 

554 million days by streams, lakes, and rivers. You can’t have 

healthy fish without clean water. Headwater streams

protected by the Clean Water Rule are vital to downstream 

habitat of fish. These are examples of where protection of 

seasonal or rain-dependent streams are important to fishing:

• In California, 64% of stream miles in salmon/steelhead 

range are seasonal or rain dependent.

• In Colorado, 55% of stream miles within native trout 

historical range are seasonal or rain dependent.

• In Montana, about half of the stream miles within native 

trout range are seasonal or rain dependent.

According to the fishing community, the list of rivers that have benefited by protection under the Clean 

Water Act reads like a copy of America’s 100 Best Trout Streams: the Potomac; the Shenandoah; the 

Musconetcong; the Penobscot; the Housatonic; rivers all across the Driftless Area; the Au Sable; the 

South Fork of the Snake; Falling Spring; the Deschutes; the Catskill rivers; the Feather; the Yuba; the 

Klamath; all of the headwaters of the Chesapeake Bay; and the Blackfoot. Now the Clean Water Rule will 

strengthen protections for the headwaters of these rivers and clarify the waters covered by the Act.

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Hunters know that streams and wetlands are critical habitat for waterfowl, birds, and other wildlife.

Additionally, the Clean Water Rule protects the prairie potholes of the U.S. Midwest when they provide 

critical nutrient capture and flood protection for downstream waters. The prairie potholes are vital to 

hunting in America, as they play host to 18 species of waterfowl. They also support 96 species of 

songbirds, 36 species of waterbirds, 17 species of raptors and 5 species of upland game birds. The rule 

also ensures that fields flooded for rice are exempt and can be used for water storage and bird habitat.

PADDLING, SURFING, AND SWIMMING DEPEND ON CLEAN WATER 

Aquatic recreation is central to people’s lives and 

livelihoods, and clean water is essential for their 

health and jobs. This includes kayaking, canoeing, 

rafting, surfing, and swimming. Americans who 

participate in these sports can’t do it safely without 

clean water. Each year 19 million people go 

paddling, making 202 million outings on lakes, rivers, 

bays and other water bodies. Each year 3.3 million 

people surf in coastal waters, which are impacted by 

the health of upstream waterways.

BUSINESSES DEPEND ON CLEAN WATER

Businesses that support fishing, hunting, and aquatic recreation rely on clean water to prosper. These 

businesses are economic drivers and provide jobs to millions of Americans. 

• As a whole, outdoor recreation generates $646 billion in consumer spending and supports 6.1 

million direct jobs. 

• Fishermen, hunters, and wildlife watchers spent $144.7 billion in 2011 on activities, equal to 1 

percent of the Gross Domestic Product. 

• Fishing itself is a $48 billion per year industry that supports nearly a million family wage jobs. 

• Paddling gear and trips contribute $86 billion a year to the American economy.

• Surfing contributes up to $3 billion to the economy each year.

PUBLIC INPUT SHAPED THE RULE

We listened closely and carefully to public input. For over a decade, EPA and the Army have received 

requests for a rulemaking to provide clarity on protections under the Clean Water Act from members of 

Congress, state and local officials, industry, agriculture, environmental groups, scientists, and the public. 

In developing the rule, the Agencies held hundreds of meetings with stakeholders across the country, 

reviewed over one million public comments, and listened carefully to perspectives from all sides. All of 

this input shaped and improved the Clean Water Rule.

FOUNDATION IN SCIENCE

Science shows us the most important waters to protect. In developing the Clean Water Rule, the 

agencies utilized the latest science, including a report summarizing more than 1,200 peer-reviewed, 

published scientific studies which showed that small streams and wetlands play an important role in the 

health of larger downstream waterways like rivers and lakes.

MORE INFORMATION: WWW.EPA.GOV/CLEANWATERRULE & WWW.ARMY.MIL/ASACW

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