Love Your Whitewater? Protect It!

With World Rivers Day coming up on September 28, it got me thinking about the water running through rivers in my neck of the woods. As paddlers, we're attuned to how much water is in our favorite river at every time of year — we have to be to find the best whitewater.

But how much water is running across the United States? Or around the globe? I found these cool maps on the The Big Wild blog that give me some insight into who has the most freshwater, and who uses the most of it.

Freshwater Resources Around the World

The map is manipulated to show how much freshwater each country has. Each territory size shows the proportion of all worldwide freshwater resources found there.

Domestic Water Use

Territory size shows the proportion of all water used for domestic purposes that was used there. Notice how some countries are extremely bloated and others nearly disappear.

Water Depletion

Basically, the bigger the country, the more water we're depleting. Territory size shows the proportion of all water used that is more than 10% of the renewable internal freshwater resources of that territory. Each territory is resized based on the volume of water used beyond 10%.

Living in the Northwest, and in the US in general, we have so much access to freshwater, that we sometimes forget that it's a limited resource. So, while many of you are waiting for the winter rains to start filling up your favorite creek, take a minute to protect it!

Here's a quick an easy way to take action right now:

1. Visit American Whitewater

2. Click on your region in the US

3. Learn more about the rivers in your neck of the woods and take action to protect them!