You are the Key! Help keep water in the Clackamas River by participating in our “Fish On the Run, Irrigation Done!” annual summer watering campaign. The Clackamas River Water Providers (CRWP), a coalition of municipal drinking water providers that get their drinking water from the Clackamas River, are asking their water customers to help the river by reducing or shutting-off outdoor watering by the beginning of September when Fall Chinook and Coho Salmon begin returning to the Clackamas River on the way to their spawning grounds.

In addition to providing drinking water to over 300,000 people the river is home to migrating salmon and steelhead virtually year-round. Most of the year there is plenty of water in the river however, due to the lack of rain to replenish the river and summer temperatures river flows become low in late summer and early fall. These conditions highlight the need for increased efficiency in water use, which lowers consumption and conserves our available water resources in the Clackamas River. 

So, if you get your drinking water from the Clackamas River, whether you use a hose or have an underground watering system to water your yard and garden, and care about protecting our river water for people, and wildlife here’s your chance to be part of our annual “Fish On the Run, Irrigation Done!” campaign to help migrating fish. 

Go to www.clackamasproviders.org to find out what kind of changes you can make to your outdoor watering to ensure that you are using our drinking water in the most efficient ways possible. Take the pledge and receive a free yard sign (below) letting neighbors know you are doing your part to keep water in the Clackamas River for the fish.

The more water we can conserve the easier this journey will be for these threatened and endangered salmon species.