Free-Flowing Rivers - Waterkeeper

Free-Flowing Rivers

Who Is Waterkeeper: Megh Ale, Karnali River Waterkeeper

  • By: Thomas Hynes
  • News

Megh Ale first saw the Karnali River in 1991. He hiked a full two days to get there, and it was well worth the effort. The waters were turquoise blue and...

Watch the “Sister River” Documentary Today!


In this new short documentary, “Sister River” Hudson Riverkeeper Tracy Brown travels to Nepal to explore and help advocate for the Karnali...

Who Is Waterkeeper: Nabil Musa, Waterkeepers Iraq-Kurdistan


Nabil Musa grew up in Iraq, but was forced to leave the country in 1996 due to the country’s ongoing military conflict. His childhood was also marred...

Who Is Waterkeeper: Patricio Chambers, Guayllabamba Waterkeeper

  • By: Thomas Hynes
  • News

Patricio Chambers has been the Guayllabamba Waterkeeper in Ecuador since 2018. He learned the value of caring for nature from his father, Rafael Chambers,...

Who Is Waterkeeper: Amanda Reichelt-Brushett, Richmond Riverkeeper

  • By: Thomas Hynes
  • News

Richmond Riverkeeper is one of the newest Waterkeeper groups in the movement. Their official membership only went live in December of 2023. But the impetus...

Who Is Waterkeeper: Bruce Reznik, Los Angeles Waterkeeper


Los Angeles Waterkeeper Bruce Reznik grew up in a quiet, residential area of Los Angeles County. As a kid, he can remember seeing signs pointing out the...

Who Is Waterkeeper: Bunleap Leang, Lower Sesan River Waterkeeper

  • By: Thomas Hynes
  • News

Bunleap Leang is the Lower Sesan River Waterkeeper in Cambodia. The Lower Sesan River runs for roughly 225 kilometers, or about 140 miles, and is a sanctuary...

Waterkeeper Alliance Stands With Groups in the Western U.S Seeking to Avoid the Collapse of the Colorado River Supply System


Colorado Riverkeeper, John Weisheit, drafted detailed scoping comments submitted to the Bureau of Reclamation on August 17, 2023 as a part of that agency’s...

Waterkeepers Meet in Sweden for Regional Summit


Skill building in the far North, with 24 hours of daylight, sled dogs, and coffee. Earlier this month, Waterkeepers from Africa, the Middle East, Europe,...

Waterkeepers Meet in Hyannis, Massachusetts for Regional Summit

  • By: María Victoria Díaz-González
  • News

Earlier this month, North Atlantic Waterkeepers gathered in Hyannis, Massachusetts for a long awaited Regional Summit.  The North Atlantic Regional Summit...

Who Is Waterkeeper: Gidon Bromberg, Jordan River Waterkeeper

  • By: Thomas Hynes
  • News

The Jordan River runs for about 100 kilometers, from the Sea of Galilee to the Dead Sea, serving as a border between Israelis, Jordanians, and Palestinians....

Futaleufú Riverkeeper Advocates for Water Reserve Designation

  • By: Waterkeeper Alliance
  • News

This year Futaleufú Riverkeeper celebrated ten years working to protect the Futaleufú River.  It’s been a long journey of ups and downs since we began...

Melinda Booth

Who Is Waterkeeper: Melinda Booth, Yuba River Waterkeeper

  • By: Thomas Hynes
  • News

The Yuba River runs for about a hundred miles from its origins in the Sierra Nevada mountains near Lake Tahoe in Northern California downhill to the Sacramento...

COP27: Groups warn of severe climate and human rights risk of new hydropower dams and schemes


Dams and hydropower schemes create major loss and damage, including producing significant amounts of methane, biodiversity loss, and community displacement....

Who Is Waterkeeper: Bill Lucey, Long Island Soundkeeper

  • By: Thomas Hynes
  • News

Bill Lucey, a Connecticut native, has been the Long Island Soundkeeper since 2017. However, the organization’s inception dates back three decades to...

COP26: UN human rights experts highlight continued human rights impacts of dams


Calls mount for UN climate financing mechanisms to exclude hydropower As negotiators convened at COP26 in Glasgow attempt to break the deadlock on emissions...

Hydropower dam from above.

300 organizations from 69 countries call on governments to not use climate funding for so-called “sustainable” hydropower schemes


300 organizations from 69 countries today launched a Rivers for Climate Global Declaration calling on governments and leaders attending COP26 to protect...

Press Conference: Hydropower – A False Climate Solution


Over 280 organizations from 69 countries call for climate funding to exclude so-called “sustainable” hydropower schemes. WHEN: 21 September 2021 |...

Motion to Protect Amazon Rivers Approved at the World Conservation Congress in Marseille


By Derecho, Ambiente y Recursos Naturales (DAR). Republished with permission. The Members’ Assembly of the International Union for Conservation of...

methane flame

Waterkeeper Alliance Responds to Dire IPCC Report on Climate Crisis


The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) report released earlier today brings a dire warning: climate change is accelerating and aggressive...

Nature Always Wins: The Colorado River Basin’s Dam Problem


The fight for clean and free-flowing waterways often runs up against dams. These structures once seemed like great solutions for how to provide power and...

Gross Dam Colorado River

Appeal Filed to Sustain Colorado River Flows and Stop Gross Dam Expansion


Coalition Stays the Course in Fight to Halt Construction of Tallest Dam in Colorado History DENVER – A coalition of conservation groups filed a notice...

Milwaukee Riverkeeper is turning the tide on years of industrial pollution


The Milwaukee River Basin covers nearly 900 square miles across seven Wisconsin counties. Its three main rivers — the Milwaukee, the Menomonee, and the...

Settlement Agreement Reached for Windy Gap Firming Project Litigation


Today, opposing sides in the litigation over the Windy Gap Firming Project (“Project”) reached and signed a settlement agreement that ends the litigation...

Broad Coalition of Environmental Nonprofits Urge Elected Officials to Oppose the Goldendale Pumped Storage Development


A coalition of fifteen environmental organizations called on Washington and Oregon elected officials to oppose the Goldendale Energy Storage Hydroelectric...

A Win for the Marañón River? Enel asks Peruvian Government to terminate dam contract


Future of Critical Amazon River Tributary Still in Danger A global energy company with a concession to build a dam on the Marañón River, a major tributary...

A win for the Marañón? Energy company moves to terminate dam contract, but what will the Peruvian government do?


One of the companies with a concession to build a mega dam on the Marañón River, the main hydrological source of the Amazon, has formally asked the Peruvian...

Newly Released Video Shows Tranquil Villages That Would be Flooded if Marañón Dams are Built


Marañón Waterkeeper and Waterkeeper Alliance released a video that takes viewers to tranquil villages on the floor of Peru’s remote Marañón Canyon,...

Sign to save the source of the Amazon!


Read in Spanish / Leer en español Planned dams on Peru’s Marañón River, the hydrological source of the Amazon, would flood farms and caves containing...

Conservation Groups Challenge Trump Administration’s Attack on the Power of States and Local Residents to Protect Clean Water


Conservation groups today challenged in federal court a Trump administration rollback of clean water protections that sharply curtails the ability of...