Guest post by Rebecca Dolson is a part of our America’s Most Endangered Rivers® series spotlighting the St. Lawrence River.

In April, the St. Lawrence River was named one of America’s Most Endangered Rivers®.

For over 50 years, the St. Lawrence River and Lake Ontario have been subjected to a water level and flow-management plan that has caused extreme wetland habitat loss and species declines because it did not consider the importance of natural, variable flows.

WWF-Canada’s Watershed Report for the St. Lawrence River shows that the river is facing very high threats from flow alteration, habitat fragmentation, pollution and a high threat from habitat loss. Lake Ontario also faces very high threat levels from habitat fragmentation and a moderate threat from alteration of flows.

The good news is that a new water level and flow management plan already exists. It is called Plan 2014, developed by the International Joint Commission and referred to both the Canadian and United States governments for approval on June 19^th, 2014. It is a solution that is good for the environment, the economy and the communities along the St. Lawrence. Plan 2014 would restore more than 26,000 hectares of wetlands along the St. Lawrence and Lake Ontario shorelines, boost hydropower production, and increase the resilience of hundreds of kilometers of shorelines on the Canadian and U.S. sides of the waterway.

More than 22,500 citizens, 42 conservation organizations and 35 business and community leaders have expressed support for Canada and the United States to adopt Plan 2014, but it remains unapproved.

WWF-Canada supports the immediate adoption of Plan 2014 by both governments to benefit the habitats, species and communities that rely on Lake Ontario and the St. Lawrence River.

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Rebecca Dolson is World Wildlife Fund (WWF) Canada’s specialist on freshwater policy. WWF is Canada’s largest international conservation organization with the active support of more than 150,000 Canadians.

Today’s post is a guest blog from Robyn Mattison, Public Works Director and the City Engineer for the City of Ketchum. The city is a grant recipient of the Connecting Communities to Rivers Grant Program, working to connect their community to the Big Wood River.

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The Happy Trails project is off to a happy start, with work already completed on two of the thirteen trails slated for rehabilitation, connecting Ketchum residents and area visitors to the Big Wood River.

The City of Ketchum, in partnership with the Idaho Conservation League, received a grant from American Rivers to improve public access to the Big Wood River. Currently, there are 16 Big Wood River access points within city limits, yet only a few are marked with signs and some of the trails are overgrown with vegetation, making it difficult for people to know where they can access the river. The Happy Trails project will improve these conditions, supporting the restoration of trails and riverside land, remove noxious weeds, add signage, mark parking areas and reroute unsustainable trails.

Community support is a crucial part of the Happy Trails Project. Together with the Idaho Conservation League, we are working to generate support from local businesses and raise awareness with the general community. Jointly, we are facilitating volunteer opportunities to inspire community members to help with trail maintenance along 11 remaining paths.

Keller Williams Sun Valley Realty, was the first group to take advantage of this volunteer opportunity. They were among 134,000 Keller Williams associates worldwide participating in the real estate franchise’s annual RED Day (Renew, Energize and Donate). Its associates donated a day to give back to their local community contributing labor to improve two trails that provide access to a 10-foot angler easement along the east side of the Big Wood River; Bear Lane and Northwood Way trails.

Twenty Keller Williams agents helped to dig paths, remove rocks and brush and spread decomposed granite, a trail base that provides easier access for wheelchair users and those with other mobility issues.

“We were thrilled to perform such a fantastic project for Ketchum,” said Keller William’s Lane Monroe. “Giving back to the community for this type of project is important to us. Public lands access is near and dear to Idahoans.”

There will be plenty of opportunities to volunteer outside this summer with the City of Ketchum and Idaho Conservation League as a part of the Happy Trails Project. How can you lend a hand to improve trails in your community and connect with the Big Wood River?

As I travel around the west I often hear stories from people who are dismayed, aghast, or flatly resigned over the rampant pace of development and how we are losing all of our special places – never to be restored to their wild nature, at least not in our lifetimes. Glen Canyon tops the list; plenty of people yearn for the days when the Colorado River ran free, prior to when the gates slammed shut in the 1960’s. They badly want the place that no one knew back, sometimes at the cost of reasonable discourse about the broad legal and societal situation in the Southwest. The Colorado Basin is a very different place in 2016 than it was in 1922.

But if there is one shining example of a preservation success story, it’s the Yampa River in northwestern Colorado. One of the last major free-flowing rivers in the Colorado Basin, the Yampa serves as both a reminder of what is possible, as well as symbolizes all the reasons that we work so hard to preserve the last wild rivers and restore damaged rivers to their more natural state.

Certainly, the Yampa is not without its scars – David Brower famously pivoted to preserve the Yampa at the expense of Glen Canyon, and as he came to realize the cost those decisions levied on Glen Canyon, he greatly regretted that such a decision had to be made. But others close to Brower have told me that there was really nothing that he could have done; the Bureau of Reclamation was set on damming Glen Canyon no matter what Brower did, and that his true victory was to keep the Echo Park Dam out of Dinosaur National Monument.

I floated the Yampa for the first time a few weeks ago, as part of a trip put together with Friends of the Yampa and supported by O.A.R.S. Rafting. There were 20 of us, and our motley crew of visual artists, writers, conservationists, and policy experts came together to float this river for a few days. We chatted about policy and conservation ethic. We bonded with cold libations around warm campfires at night. We huddled in our tents during a cold, misty rainstorm. We contemplated silently, words not allowed, as we drifted into Echo Park, our gazes cast upon the towering sandstone walls, tracing arcs across the azure blue sky as a solitary raven floated overhead. After a day or two in Yampa Canyon it is easy to be absorbed into the place, and truly understand the pull of wild rivers. They speak to a place much deeper within each of us than anything viewed on a screen or photograph can provide.

The Yampa is also not without its threats. With a thirsty, growing Front Range population, a flowing river with “surplus” water will forever be a development target. But as one of the stronghold rivers for four species of endangered fish, a river that supports an entire region with regards to agriculture, recreation, and economy, and is arguably the central character in one of our country’s most unique and amazing National Monuments, the Yampa is as complete a river to protect as could possibly be imagined.

I hope if there is any place you put on your list to explore in the west, it is the Yampa River through Dinosaur National Monument. It is truly amazing. And I encourage you to gaze upon its khaki sandstone walls and juniper-dappled landscape, and reflect back upon the fights that happened here before our time, and the quest to keep this river flowing wild and free.

Guest post by Lee Willbanks is a part of our America’s Most Endangered Rivers® series spotlighting the St. Lawrence River.

Environmental considerations were not part of the planning process when the Moses-Saunders Hydropower Dam and shipping channel were built along the St. Lawrence River in the 1950s. As a result, outdated dam operations have caused significant losses to the Upper St. Lawrence River’s globally-significant biodiversity and habitat.

Impacts include a loss of wetland habitat and a decline in many fish species and nesting water birds. Black Tern, a state-listed endangered bird species that depends on a diverse marsh habitat, has declined by over 80 percent. Northern Pike, the top fish predator in coastal marshes, has declined by 70 percent. These species are indicators of ecosystem health, and show how far-reaching the dam’s impacts have been to the entire river environment.

Fortunately, a proposed regulation plan under consideration by the U.S. and Canadian governments, Plan 2014 [pdf], is designed to adjust the Moses-Saunders Hydropower Dam’s operations so as to work with nature.

It is time Secretary John Kerry and Foreign Affairs Minister Stéphane Dion listen to the over 22,500 expressions of citizen support as well as the 42 environmental, conservation and sportsmen organizations and local and regional businesses advocating for Plan 2014.

In April, American Rivers named the St. Lawrence River one of America’s Most Endangered Rivers®, shining a national spotlight on the threat outdated dam operations pose to imperiled fish, wildlife and local communities.

Both Save The River and American Rivers are focusing their collective attention on the only bi-national river to make the 2016 list. With your support, we can remove the St. Lawrence River from American Rivers’ annual list of America’s Most Endangered Rivers®.

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Lee Willbanks is the Upper St. Lawrence Riverkeeper and Executive Director of Save The River.

Save The River was formed in 1978 to protect and preserve the ecological integrity of the Upper St. Lawrence River through advocacy, education, and research.

At the end of April, American Rivers teamed up with Keurig Green Mountain employees in Suffolk, VA and the Nansemond River Preservation Alliance to enhance a 100-foot buffer along Bennett’s Creek, a tributary of the Nansemond River. To talk more about the work we did and the importance of buffers, I’ve asked Elizabeth Taraski of Nansemond River Preservation Alliance to guest blog.

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According to the Virginia Department of Health and Department of Environmental Quality, Suffolk’s waterways are impaired due to non-point source pollution, not caused by a specific source or single storm event. These contaminants come from nutrients in fertilizers used on lawns, animal waste, herbicides and pesticides, sediment and trash, oil, grease and heavy metals in runoff from roofs, driveways, streets, etc. Research has shown that a 100-foot buffer reduces sediments and nutrient levels in stormwater runoff by 75% and 40%, respectively. By curbing the amount of pollutants in stormwater runoff before entering the waterways, buffers help create cleaner rivers and also provide a habitat for wildlife and plants.

Over the past two years Keurig Green Mountain and American Rivers have teamed with the Nansemond River Preservation Alliance (NRPA), Suffolk’s city-wide environmental non-profit organization, and the City of Suffolk Parks & Recreation Department to enhance the 100-foot buffer adjacent to Bennett’s Creek. This buffer enhancement project entailed planting native trees and shrubs and also spreading a thick layer of mulch across riverside lands. The buffer area slows down the speed with which surface water runs over the land. By slowing the runoff, the water is able to filter through the surface of the ground and be taken up the plant roots. This helps prevent the formation of channels and limits the pollution that reaches the waterway. The roots of the vegetation bind the soil, preventing erosion from occurring in close proximity to the water feature or wetland. A vegetated buffer also helps to prevent erosion through protecting the ground surface from rain impact.

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When enhancing or establishing buffers, planning is critical. The project has taken place over a two-day period in the spring, a good time to plant native trees and shrubs. NRPA and the city work together and select the native trees and shrubs that will thrive in the selected area. The day begins with a brief presentation by NRPA explaining the significance of the 100-foot buffer and the long-lasting value of their team efforts. After an energetic sound off, the volunteers go to work. In 2015, 50 volunteers planted 85 trees/shrubs and spread 25 yards of mulch. This year, 70 volunteers planted 175 trees/shrubs and spread 30 yards of mulch.

The project’s benefits are plentiful. Contaminants are being filtered; marine life, birds, insects and grasses can flourish; Keurig Green Mountain volunteers enjoy a day outdoors working together to make a difference in the quality of life in their community. Smiles are all around.

In celebration of the World Fish Migration Day, here are 10 fun facts about migratory fish!

1. When most people think of migratory fish, they think of salmon and other anadromous species that are born in freshwater, migrate to the ocean, and return to their natal rivers to spawn. But catadromous fish, like the American eel, do just the opposite— they migrate from the ocean into freshwater where they spend most of their lives, and then back to the ocean to spawn.
2. The distance that migratory fish travel can vary wildly. A Chinook salmon tagged in the Aleutian Islands and recovered in Salmon River, Idaho, was determined to have traveled 3,500 miles to spawn.
3. In contrast, river herring on the East Coast typically do not travel far from the outlet of their natal stream. River herring often occur in schools of thousands of fish near these outlets.
4. Considering the long distances some migratory fish travel, their ability to navigate back to their natal stream to complete their life cycle is truly incredible. Scientific evidence suggests that these fish use magnetic fields, environmental cues, and their olfactory memory (or sense of smell) to navigate to the precise stream where they were born.
5. Diadromous fish play a crucial role in nutrient transport that supports freshwater and inland ecosystems. They migrate out of streams when they are still small and grow large on the ocean’s nutrients. Since many species die shortly after returning to their natal stream, their bodies serve as an important input of nutrients in these freshwater ecosystems.
6. Chinook salmon are among the largest migratory fish in the U.S., with the largest ever recorded being 126 lbs., though most Chinook salmon weigh only about 30 lbs.
7. Dams are not the only barriers to fish migration that are causing major declines in fish populations. Less obvious barriers can cause just as much damage, including poorly constructed culverts that occur at many road crossings.
8. Some salmon can jump as high as 6.5 feet (2 meters)— a skill that helps them in their upstream swim to their spawning grounds. However, the depth of the landing pool following such a leap can be as important to fish migration as the height of potential barriers.
9. Steelhead and rainbow trout are the same species of fish— rainbow trout is the freshwater form, and steelhead trout is the migratory form. Steelhead, unlike many migratory fish, do not always die after spawning and can make several trips back and forth between the ocean and their natal stream during their life cycle.
10. The cost of declining fish populations is not just ecological, it is financial. The Columbia River basin is estimated to have averaged between 10 and 16 million fish in the 19th century. Today, only about 1.5 million salmon and steelhead enter the Columbia each year, and only about 400,000 of those are wild, river-spawned fish. The rest are born in hatcheries. The National Marine Fisheries Service estimated the cost of salmon fishery losses due to dams in the Colombia Basin to be $6.5 billion for the period between 1960 and 1980 alone.

What other fun facts do you know about migratory fish?

Migratory fish and freshwater mussels have more in common than you might think. Each have unique life cycles and depend on clean, free flowing water to thrive.

Migratory fish spend time both in freshwater streams and in the ocean. Some species, like herring, live in the ocean and reproduce in freshwater. Other species, like American eel, live in freshwater and reproduce in the ocean. Either way, these migratory species need undammed access to riverine habitat to complete their life cycle. At American Rivers we are always thinking about connecting rivers and as we think about World Fish Migration Day, we consider how important migrating fish are to our freshwater mussels.

Freshwater mussels need fish, sometimes migratory fish, to complete their life cycle. Why? Well, adult mussels combine egg and sperm to create small freshwater mussel larvae (called glochidia). These larvae look like Pac Man and must attach to the gills of a fish for a period of time in order to transform into an adult freshwater mussel. Some species create a lure made of these larvae that mimic fish, crayfish, or other fish food to ensure the larvae make it on the gills of their host. Pretty weird, huh? The fish are not hurt in this process and the mussel gets to hitch a ride to a new place in the stream. You can see many more examples of freshwater mussel lures at the Unio Gallery.

Historically, our great rivers were paved with mussels. I’m talking billions of mussels filtering the water and hitching rides on fish. People used these great populations of mussels to make buttons and exported them for pearl culturing, too. Yep, freshwater pearls come from freshwater mussels!

These great populations are unfortunately a thing of the past. Freshwater mussels are one of the most imperiled groups of organisms threatened by habitat loss and fragmentation from dams, and pollution from sedimentation, chemicals, and fertilizers. In fact, 76% of all freshwater mussels are imperiled and 10% are already extinct.

People noticed the decline of migratory fish sooner than freshwater mussels due in part to the long lifespan of the mussels. Some species of freshwater mussel can live to be 100 years old. Luckily, now that we understand the unique life cycle of freshwater mussels, we can work to protect migratory fish and freshwater mussels together by working to conserve, protect, and restore our streams.

In the late 1950’s, the Army Corps of Engineers proposed building a dam at Spruce Park on Montana’s Middle Fork of the Flathead River – home to stunning scenery, pristine waters and wildlife including grizzlies and wolves. Two brothers, Frank and John Craighead, were involved with the fight against the dam and the effort inspired an idea: a system for classifying rivers, so the public would be more aware of the scarcity and value of wild, free-flowing streams and the value of riverside land for wildlife. They publicized the concept, gathered support, and their efforts, born on the Middle Fork Flathead, culminated in the signing of the Wild and Scenic Rivers Act on October 2, 1968. Today 208 rivers totaling 12, 709 miles enjoy protection from new dams and other harmful development.

David Moryc, Senior Director of River Protection for American Rivers, joined Trout TV on the Middle Fork to share this important story, along with some great fishing. Check out the episode here.

More than providing a new tool for conservation, the passage of the Act spawned a uniquely American idea: some rivers are so outstanding and valuable that they are worth setting aside, free from development, for future generations. It is now our national policy to balance the degradation of our rivers with a system of protected rivers.

We’ve made good progress over the decades protecting Wild and Scenic Rivers, from the Sudbury in Massachusetts to the Salmon in Idaho. But there are so many rivers that are still in need of protection – our work is far from finished.

Since then almost 13,000 miles of rivers and millions of acres of riverside land as have been protected which has been the best investment we could have made in conservation. Unfortunately this represents less than 1% of rivers in the U.S.

October 2, 2018 will mark the 50th Anniversary of the Wild and Scenic Rivers Act.

We’ll be sharing more details about the 5,000 Miles of Wild campaign in the coming months. In the meantime, get to know a Wild and Scenic River near you. Whether you prefer fishing, paddling, hiking, wildlife-watching, exploring solo or with friends and family, we hope you’ll make one of these treasures part of your plans this summer.

The salmon and steelhead of the Snake River are magnificent creatures, traveling more than 900 miles from the sea to spawn in Idaho’s high mountain streams– the largest block of healthy salmon habitat remaining in the lower 48 states.

They are an icon of the region, central to our lives and identity, and to the health of the Northwest’s environment and economy. And they are threatened with extinction, due in large part to the impacts of the four lower Snake River dams.

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The salmon and people of the Northwest had reason to cheer earlier this month when a federal judge ruled the current salmon recovery plan is insufficient. The ruling sided with American Rivers and our partners, and we are hopeful it will finally put the region on a path to a real and lasting solution.
Bob Irvin, President of American Rivers, wrote:

In particular, the court found that the federal government had failed to adequately consider the impacts of climate change on the Columbia River system. In addition, the court found that the federal government had failed to prepare an environmental impact statement considering a range of alternatives for the Columbia River system, as required by the National Environmental Policy Act. Judge Simon specifically noted:

Congress enacted the National Environmental Policy Act to ensure a process in which all reasonable alternatives are given a “hard look” and all necessary information is provided to the public. In addition, a central purpose of an environmental impact statement is “to force the consideration of environmental impacts in the decision-making process.” For example, the option of breaching, bypassing, or even removing a dam may be considered more financially prudent and environmentally effective than spending hundreds of millions of dollars more on uncertain habitat restoration and other alternative actions.

Judge Simon ordered the National Marine Fisheries Service to create a new biological opinion and an environmental impact statement no later than March 1, 2018.

This is the fifth time in this long-running litigation that a federal judge has found that the operation of the dams on the Columbia River system, which includes the four lower Snake River dams, jeopardizes the continued existence of endangered salmon. This latest ruling makes clear that the federal government must consider the option of breaching, bypassing, or removing dams in evaluating alternatives for operation of the Columbia River system.

American Rivers has long maintained that any conversation about removing the four lower Snake River dams must include a discussion about replacing the services they provide with cost effective alternatives. Power from the dams can be replaced through a combination of energy efficiency, new renewables like wind, and perhaps changes in the operation of the region’s other dams. Grain currently transported on lower Snake River barges can be moved on upgraded railroads, highways, and Columbia River barges. Irrigation is only provided from the lowermost of four lower Snake River reservoirs, and that water could also be pumped from a free-flowing river.

What are the benefits of dam removal, beyond restoring vital salmon habitat? Removing the four lower Snake dams would bring substantial recreation benefits, reduce the risk of flooding in Lewiston, Idaho, and reduce or even eliminate pressure on Idaho farmers to forgo irrigation for the benefit of downstream salmon. Dam removal would also likely be cheaper in the long run for taxpayers and electricity ratepayers, as it would reduce mitigation costs for the rest of the Columbia River dams.
In the Columbia-Snake basin, a win-win solution will be one that restores abundant, harvestable wild salmon, fosters investment in new renewable energy, ensures sufficient water supplies and transportation infrastructure for farms and communities, and reduces risk of flood damage. Reaching this outcome will require strong leadership from the White House, Northwest governors, and the Northwest congressional delegation. These leaders should encourage and even demand that Columbia Basin stakeholders get together to forge a comprehensive plan to restore imperiled salmon and protect and enhance region’s economy and quality of life.

As other river and water management settlements around the West have demonstrated, it takes hard work to chart out a win-win solution, but it is possible. We still have a lot of work to do. Together with our partners, we are committed to making the Snake River one of our nation’s great restoration success stories.

Dam removal projects are best done in partnership and one of the best examples is the Upper Citico Creek dam removal project in Tennessee’s Cherokee National Forest highlighted in our short film Connecting Citico Creek.

American Rivers teamed up with two federal agencies, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife and the U.S. Forest Service, to achieve our common goal of restoring aquatic habitat. Each partner brought their expertise and resources to the table to produce an efficient, high quality, low cost victory in the Little Tennessee River watershed.

“The way we accomplish most of this dam removal work is by developing partnerships,” says Ricky Campbell, project leader for the US Fish and Wildlife Service who also operates the heavy machinery to remove unneeded structures like dams from streams.

“This has been a terrific experience. Between working with American Rivers and Fish and Wildlife Service, and our agency the Forest Service, it’s been remarkably simple to get this project done considering the complexity of working in a stream that contains threatened and endangered fish,” says Ali Reddington, hydrologist for the Cherokee National Forest.

“Dam removal projects are best done in partnership and one of the best examples is the Upper Citico Creek dam removal project in Tennessee’s Cherokee National Forest highlighted in our short film Connecting Citico Creek. ”

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The Upper Citico Creek dam was built in 1966 with the misguided purpose of protecting the cold water fish species in Citico Creek from the warm water fish species in the adjacent Indian Boundary reservoir. Now, fish and other aquatic species can move unhindered in the upper reaches of Citico Creek. Additionally, recreational paddlers attracted to this reach by high flows can now paddle more safely since the removal of this dam. Read more about the Citico Creek dam removal here.

American Rivers appreciates the efforts of all of our partners and we look forward to partnering on more projects with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and the U.S. Forest Service to restore our nation’s streams.

American Rivers and our partners have won a major victory in our 15-year old lawsuit challenging the federal government’s failure to adequately protect endangered salmon in the operation of dams in the Columbia River system.

Yesterday, U.S. District Judge Michael Simon ruled that the 2014 Biological Opinion issued by the National Marine Fisheries Service did not adequately consider the impacts of continued dam operations on threatened and endangered salmon as required by the Endangered Species Act. In particular, the court found that the federal government had failed to adequately consider the impacts of climate change on the Columbia River system. In addition, the court found that the federal government had failed to prepare an environmental impact statement considering a range of alternatives for the Columbia River system, as required by the National Environmental Policy Act. Judge Simon specifically noted:

Congress enacted the National Environmental Policy Act to ensure a process in which all reasonable alternatives are given a “hard look” and all necessary information is provided to the public. In addition, a central purpose of an environmental impact statement is “to force the consideration of environmental impacts in the decisionmaking process.” For example, the option of breaching, bypassing, or even removing a dam may be considered more financially prudent and environmentally effective than spending hundreds of millions of dollars more on uncertain habitat restoration and other alternative actions.

Judge Simon ordered the National Marine Fisheries Service to create a new biological opinion and an environmental impact statement no later than March 1, 2018.

This is the fifth time in this long-running litigation that a federal judge has found that the operation of the dams on the Columbia River system, which includes the four lower Snake River dams, jeopardizes the continued existence of endangered salmon. This latest ruling makes clear that the federal government must consider the option of breaching, bypassing, or removing dams in evaluating alternatives for operation of the Columbia River system.

Along with other national and regional conservation groups, we are represented in the litigation by attorneys from Earthjustice. While much work remains, today American Rivers and our partners are celebrating this important victory.

President Obama is visiting Flint, Michigan on May 4 to meet with residents and witness the city’s efforts to recover from lead-contaminated drinking water supplies. The health crisis in Flint has raised concerns about drinking water safety nationwide.

We interviewed Jenny Hoffner, Vice President for Conservation Strategies at American Rivers, about what triggered the crisis in Flint and how we can ensure clean water for all communities.

Lead causes a wide range of health problems and is especially harmful to children. So how did it end up contaminating the drinking water in Flint, Michigan?

For decades, the City of Flint paid for drinking water from the City of Detroit, which sourced it from Lake Huron. In early 2014, as a cost saving measure, the state-appointed city manager had the city start pumping water from the Flint River. Flint River water is more corrosive than Lake Huron water, causing lead from older water pipes to leach into the drinking water.

What’s “corrosive” water? This description from Penn State Extension explains that while it is “usually not dangerous to consume by itself, it can cause serious drinking water quality problems by dissolving metals from plumbing systems.” This is a relatively common issue – many drinking water treatment plants use special chemicals, orthophosphates, to inhibit lead corrosion, particularly in older systems. Tragically, this wasn’t done in the case of the Flint.

How can we help the people of Flint and make sure communities nationwide have clean drinking water?

American Rivers is calling for the creation of a Clean Water Trust Fund — an unprecedented national investment in clean water to provide consistent funding to address our water infrastructure problems. This trust fund will protect and restore our rivers and bring our water infrastructure into the 21^st century.

An investment of $1 trillion in clean water would pay dividends for generations to come. By comparison, our nation spent $1.7 trillion on the Iraq war. For about 35 cents per person per day, spread over 25 years, we can secure clean water in cities and towns across America. What parent wouldn’t spend 35 cents a day, less than the cost of a daily cup of coffee, to ensure the health and well-being of their child?

How can I make sure my own water is safe?

The best way to be sure is to have your water tested. The EPA is providing this factsheet with tips on reducing your family’s exposure to lead. You should call your local water utility with specific questions and talk to your doctor about health concerns.

What does the situation in Flint say about the state of our clean water supplies nationwide?

The disaster in Flint comes on the heels of other high-profile water crises – the mining waste spill in Colorado’s Animas River, the drinking water ban in Toledo, Ohio, and the chemical spill in West Virginia’s Elk River. Nationwide, the American Society of Civil Engineers gives water infrastructure a D grade in its report card on the nation’s infrastructure. And at the same time, 44 percent of assessed waterways in the U.S. are too polluted for fishing or swimming.

Whether the issue is outdated infrastructure, poor water management, or pollution, the point is ultimately the same: every American deserves clean water. It is unacceptable that in 2016 some communities in our country do not have access to safe drinking water.

Rivers provide more than two-thirds of our drinking water supplies. We must invest in protecting and restoring our rivers and modernizing water infrastructure. Flint is the latest wake-up call. It’s time to act.