Who We Are
For more than 25 years, Waterkeeper Alliance and Waterkeeper groups across six continents have united communities to protect waterways and defend the fundamental right to clean water. Together, we patrol and protect more than 6 million square miles of waterways, supporting nearly 2.5 billion people worldwide.
Our Path Forward
Vision and Mission
We envision a world where water is clean, healthy, safe, and accessible for all people and nature to flourish. Our mission is to connect, support, and advocate with Waterkeeper groups to protect the right to clean water with communities worldwide.
Strategic Plan
Our 5-Year Strategic Plan guides the next stage of our global movement to protect waterways and advance the right to clean water in a changing climate.
From local waters to a global movement
Our story began in 1966 with a group of working-class fishermen on New York’s Hudson River. Their bold activism against industrial polluters helped spark a remarkable recovery of the river and inspired the creation of local Waterkeeper groups around the world, leading to the founding of Waterkeeper Alliance in 1999.
Today, Waterkeeper Alliance unites hundreds of Waterkeeper groups who patrol and protect more than six million square miles of rivers, lakes, and coastlines across six continents.
The need for this work has never been greater. Clean water faces growing threats from PFAS, plastic pollution, industrial agriculture, aging infrastructure, and the accelerating impacts of climate change.
As these challenges become more complex and interconnected, protecting clean water requires strong local leadership supported by the science, legal expertise, policy leadership, and collective voice of a global movement.
Together, we defend clean water through citizen science, litigation, policy reform, grassroots advocacy, and community action—combining local knowledge with shared expertise to hold polluters accountable and advance the right to clean water in a rapidly changing climate.
OUR GUIDING PRINCIPLES
▪ Recognize water is life and connects us to each other and the world we share;
▪ Uphold clean, healthy, safe, and accessible water as a fundamental right for people, ecosystems, and future generations;
▪ Protect the safety of water defenders, standing firmly with those on the frontlines;
▪ Nurture connection to water to inspire people to protect it;
▪ Honor the unique voices and experiences of all Waterkeeper groups, rooted in their communities and watersheds; and
▪ Build trusted relationships and collaborate for greater, collective impact.
Remembering Rick Dove
Honoring the life and legacy of Rick Dove, the first Neuse Riverkeeper and a Founder of Waterkeeper Alliance.
