Waterkeeper Alliance

Waterkeeper Alliance Waterkeeper Alliance strengthens and grows a global network of grassroots leaders protecting everyone’s right to clean water.
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The Waterkeeper movement was started by a band of blue-collar fishermen on New York’s Hudson River in 1966. Their tough, grassroots brand of environmental activism sparked the river’s miraculous recovery and inspired others to launch local Waterkeeper groups around the world. Today, Waterkeeper Alliance unites more than 300 Waterkeeper Organizations and Affiliates that are on the frontlines of the

global water crisis, patrolling and protecting more than 2.5 million square miles of rivers, lakes and coastal waterways on 6 continents. Waterkeeper Organizations and Affiliates defend the fundamental human right to drinkable, fishable and swimmable waters from the Great Lakes to the Himalayas, and combine firsthand knowledge of their waterways with an unwavering commitment to the rights of their communities. Whether they’re on the water tracking down polluters, in courtrooms enforcing environmental laws, advocating in town meetings or teaching in classrooms, the Waterkeeper movement speaks for the waters it defends with the backing of local communities. Waterkeeper Alliance ensures that the world’s Waterkeeper Organizations and Affiliates are as connected to each other as they are to their local waters, organizing the fight for clean water into a coordinated global movement.

05/13/2026

For decades, the U.S. Clean Water Act has helped reduce pollution in rivers, lakes, streams, and wetlands by setting clear rules and holding polluters accountable.

Recent rollbacks threaten that progress, putting millions of acres of wetlands, thousands of miles of streams, and many of our drinking water sources at risk.

States can step in to help fill the gap.

Waterkeeper Alliance and The Center for Water Security and Cooperation have released a practical guide for how states can strengthen protections after the Supreme Court’s Sackett decision narrowed federal protections.

To learn more about what is possible for clean water, visit
https://waterkeeper.org/protecting-clean-water/

05/09/2026

It's time for another Week In Water, a weekly-ish look back at a few of the many positive stories from the Waterkeeper movement.

This May, people worldwide will search rivers, lakes, and beaches for tiny plastic pellets. Join Waterkeeper Alliance and hundreds of volunteers for the International Plastic Pellet Count. We're at 731,522 and counting.

Check here to learn how you can participate in the hunt: https://waterkeeper.org/international-plastic-pellet-count/

05/08/2026

We’re a few actions away from 10K! The U.S. House of Representatives removed some of the worst anti–clean water provisions from the 2026 Farm Bill. Thousands of messages from all of you to Congress helped us get there.

Let's finish strong as the bill moves to the Senate.

Use this link to tell your Senators that we demand a strong bill that protects clean water and healthy food for all! https://tr.ee/2026_farm_bill

05/07/2026

The video speaks for itself.

These tiny pellets may look harmless, but they are not.

Last Saturday, San Antonio Bay Estuarine Waterkeeper collected over 715,000 plastic pellets near a Dow Chemical facility in just 10 minutes.

That’s only a fraction of what’s out there.

At the start of the International Pellet Count, 600 volunteers across 114 sites in the U.S. and four other countries collected a total of 731,552 plastic pellets.

Think about that. And then think about how much is still in our water and environment.

This is why data matters. It helps build the case for accountability through advocacy, policy, and litigation.
Diane knows that better than most.

She’s a Texas mom who got fed up, fought back, and won the largest U.S. Clean Water Act settlement against the plastics industry.

And she did it with data like what we’re collecting throughout May.

This is what real change takes. People, persistence, and proof.

You can be part of it.

Watch and share this video.

Read our release to learn more about the collective fight to end plastic pollution.

Find your local Waterkeeper and get involved in whatever way you can.

And most importantly, sign up for a pellet count and report what you find.

Diane is still fighting back. You can too.

https://linktr.ee/waterkeeperalliance

05/02/2026

The 2026 International Plastic Pellet Count is officially underway.

Throughout the month of May, join us, along with 25+ Waterkeeper groups and countless volunteers worldwide, in collecting plastic pellets and helping map the spread.

Last year, we counted and recorded nearly 50,000 pellets at 200 sites across 14 countries.

This data exists because we showed up. As Port Phillip Baykeeper Neil Blake says, “Pick up the broom!”

Check here to learn how you can join the hunt: https://waterkeeper.org/international-plastic-pellet-count/

Video courtesy of Port Phillip Baykeeper.

05/02/2026

What if the smallest plastics tell the biggest story?

Starting May 2, people around the world will head to rivers, lakes, and beaches to search for tiny plastic pellets, or nurdles, hiding in plain sight.

Last year, San Antonio Bay Estuarine Waterkeeper collected an astonishing 18,348 pellets in just 10 minutes! As you can see in this recent video shared by Diane Wilson, San Antonio Bay Waterkeeper, they’ve only scratched the surface.

Join Waterkeeper Alliance and partners for the International Plastic Pellet Count, a month of action mobilizing more than 25 Waterkeeper groups and community volunteers across six countries and counting to confront the plastic pollution crisis.

Check here for more details, learn how to get involved, and spread the word. Happy hunting!

https://waterkeeper.org/international-plastic-pellet-count/

05/01/2026

Victory in the House!

The U.S. House of Representatives just removed some of the worst anti–clean water provisions from the 2026 Farm Bill, including efforts to shield pesticide companies from accountability.

That win happened because people spoke up. Together, we sent thousands of messages to Congress, and it made a difference.

But the fight isn’t over. The bill now moves to the Senate, and clean water is still at risk.

Contact your senators today and demand a Farm Bill that protects clean water and public health for everyone.

Take action now: https://tr.ee/2026_farm_bill

"Hellcat: The True Story of an Unreasonable Texan" spotlights San Antonio Bay Estuarine Waterkeeper Diane Wilson and her...
04/30/2026

"Hellcat: The True Story of an Unreasonable Texan" spotlights San Antonio Bay Estuarine Waterkeeper Diane Wilson and her decades-long fight to protect her Texas bay from industrial pollution.

It’s a powerful look at what persistent, community-driven advocacy can achieve.

If you’re in the area, catch Hellcat at the DocLands Documentary Film Festival on May 2 in San Rafael, CA.

Learn more and get tickets at doclands.com

Waterkeepers at the First Conference on the Transition Away from Fossil Fuels!Bargny COAST Waterkeeper Daouda Gueye and ...
04/29/2026

Waterkeepers at the First Conference on the Transition Away from Fossil Fuels!

Bargny COAST Waterkeeper Daouda Gueye and Waterkeepers Bangladesh Sharif Jamil joined nations, NGOs, academics, Indigenous Peoples, and activists in Santa Marta to accelerate a just transition.

With 50+ countries present, delegates are addressing key levers such as national roadmaps, fossil fuel subsidy reform, debt sustainability, state-owned enterprises, and carbon pricing and energy taxes.

Waterkeeper leaders are joining marches, workshops, and panels, reminding us that waterway safety is bound up with a transition away from fossil fuels.

NOW STREAMING! In this episode of "Equity In Every Drop", Millicent Olal-Muchilwa, North Basin Lake Victoria Waterkeeper...
04/23/2026

NOW STREAMING!

In this episode of "Equity In Every Drop", Millicent Olal-Muchilwa, North Basin Lake Victoria Waterkeeper in Kenya, joins us to discuss her journey as a human rights defender, the "long haul" of environmental litigation, and the danger of speaking truth to power. She also explores how her children sparked her return to the front lines, to turn local challenges into systemic opportunities for restoration.

Listen here or wherever you get your podcasts: https://tr.ee/S_3xw1AXnI

04/22/2026

Happy !

Clean water is protected by people who show up every day. Communities are facing plastics, PFAS, and polluted waterways right now—and they shouldn’t have to face it alone.

That’s where Waterkeeper Alliance comes in. And where you do, too.

Today, your gift can go twice as far to help defend clean water for all.

Thanks for standing with us! Support this work: https://waterkeeper.org/earth-day/

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