Learn More
Washington’s rivers are central to our quality of life. They provide clean drinking water for communities, support local economies, are critical to the health and abundance of fish and wildlife species, and provide numerous recreation opportunities for Washingtonians and visitors, including fishing, boating, hiking, and camping. They are vital to a thriving, sustainable future for Washington’s communities. Washington’s rivers and streams provide the foundation for supporting Tribal rights and lifeways of several sovereign Tribes, who have stewarded these lands from time immemorial and continue to do so today. Safeguarding Washington’s rivers will ensure that these treasures are protected for current and future generations.
However, Washington’s rivers, streams, and wetlands face growing threats. Drought, diminished snowpacks, increasing temperatures, wildfire, development, and pollution all threaten the long-term security of Washington’s water resources.
Fortunately, the bipartisan Clean Water Act provides a way for Washingtonians to work together to protect our state’s rivers, streams, and wetlands. Outstanding Resource Water (ORW) designations identify waters of exceptional recreational, environmental, or ecological significance and help ensure the qualities that make them so valuable remain unchanged.
By protecting existing water quality, ORW designation helps ensure that our favorite places to swim, fish, and boat will remain as special as they are today. Once a waterway is designated as an ORW, existing activities can continue, but new degradation of water quality is forbidden. Importantly, ORW designations do not prohibit current use or activities including mining, timber harvest, grazing, and recreation.
Designation of these river systems would benefit Washington’s people, economy, wildlife, and salmon. It is essential that the state take steps now to protect some of its remaining high-quality rivers that provide numerous benefits to Washingtonians. As impacts from climate change become increasingly evident, protecting our high-quality rivers and streams is an essential investment for our future.
Protecting the Napeequa, Cascade, and Green river systems is not just good for our health and well-being, but it also protects our bottom line. According to the 2020 Economic Analysis of Outdoor Recreation in Washington State, outdoor recreation supports $26.5 billion in annual expenditures that contribute to Washington’s economy every year. This study found that people spent 1 of every 5 recreational days in Washington on local waterways – a shining example of how beloved high quality rivers are to Washington’s communities and how critical they are to the existing and future local economy.
