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Tennessee's Water Blueprint

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The water in Tennessee’s streams and river systems belongs to all of us. We all use clean water. We want to have enough for all our needs—for drinking, for farming, for fish, wildlife, and recreation. Industry requires water, and our state uses water to produce power. Our personal health and the economic health of our state depend on an abundant supply of clean water.

Tennessee has over 60,000 miles of rivers and streams and nearly 538,000 lake and reservoir acres. We are blessed with a lush green landscape that attracted the earliest settlers, and which continues to appeal to people today. We have vibrant cities, productive and charming small towns, farmland and forests, and abundant wildlife and recreational opportunities. Tourism is our second largest industry. All of it depends on clean water.

We all have a right to clean water and we share the responsibility to protect it for future generations. The health and prosperity of our families depend on clean water now, and so will the future of our grandchildren and their children. We can continue to enjoy the wonderful quality of life and Tennessee’s natural landscapes—the wildlife, green space, fish, farms, mountains and forests—if we commit to protecting our resources, especially water. We can have a state that is rich in life and beauty.

All human societies are based on water and on the processes of the natural world—processes that are often hidden from view, but are critical to maintaining our health and prosperity. Only 1% of the water on earth is liquid freshwater, our most essential natural resource, and it must be protected for future generations.

“When the well’s dry, we know the worth of water.”
Benjamin Franklin