Know Your Rights

You have the right to clean water.

You are the owner of your stream, river, lake, bay and coastal waterway.

You have the right to use those waters as long as you don’t interfere with their use by anyone else — and as long as they are free from pollution and destruction by our hands, there is plenty for all.

Pollution is theft. Government is entrusted to protect our waterways for the use and enjoyment of the public. When government fails, it is the right and responsibility of citizens to enforce environmental laws and protect our right to clean water.

The origins of your right to clean water.

Medieval Code
In the sixth century the Roman Emperor Justinian ordered the codification of imperial legal doctrine as the Corpus Iurus Civilis [Body of Civil Law]. The Justinian Code spread throughout the Roman Empire and forms the basis for English and U.S. Common Law. The Justinian Code spells out the Public Trust Doctrine: The public — no individual, no government, no corporation and no polluter — owns our waterways.

United Nations
The right to clean water is almost universally recognized worldwide. The United Nations Charter and the legally binding 1966 International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights implicitly and explicitly recognize the human right to clean water.

Fishable & Swimmable
U.S. Congress passed the Clean Water Act in 1972. The goals of the law are broad and ambitious: fishable and swimmable waterways and zero discharge of pollution into our rivers, lakes and coastal waters by 1985. We’ve missed the deadline. But the national goal and the law remain in effect.

Citizen Action
U.S. federal law and the laws of nations around the world give citizens the power to prosecute environmental crimes. Waterkeepers enforce these laws, patrolling our waterways and protecting our communities.