Our Rivers, Lakes & Streams

Our state's water resources, such as Flathead Lake, are crucial to our quality of life, our health and the environment. Sadly, developers have used the courts to weaken the Clean Water Act, allowing polluters to dump into some of our lakes, rivers and streams with impunity.

Environment Montana is working to pass the Clean Water Restoration Act, to ensure that all of our rivers, lakes and streams are protected by the Clean Water Act and to reverse the damage that's been caused before it's too late.

Tell Sens. Baucus and Tester to make sure that all of Montana's rivers, lakes and streams are protected by the Clean Water Act.

Over the last 30 years, we have made significant progress in cleaning up our water, but we still have important work to do. Many of America’s great waterways -- including Montana's beautiful lakes and important water sources -- are struggling from too much pollution.

But instead of curbing this pollution, the Bush administration spent much of the last eight years creating loopholes that enabled it. First, Bush officials exempted various types of pollution -- from pesticide spraying to mountaintop mining -- from standard clean water protections. Then these officials used court decisions to issue a “no protection” policy, which put thousands of wetlands, headwaters and streams beyond the reach of the Clean Water Act.

Now Environment Montana is working with our members in Congress and the Obama administration to reverse these rollbacks so that all of our waterways are protected under the Clean Water Act from all types of pollution.