{
  "id": 362281,
  "title": "Map Shows States Where Drinking Water Protections Face Change",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/08/09/map-shows-states-where-drinking-water-protections-face-change",
  "topic": "world",
  "section": "World",
  "published": "2026-08-09T09:00:00.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "Newsweek",
    "slug": "newsweek",
    "url": "https://www.newsweek.com/map-shows-states-where-drinking-water-protections-face-change-12271351"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "A new study published in PLOS Water reveals that federal protections for roadless areas in National Forest System lands help provide drinking water for approximately 25 million Americans. The Roadless Area Conservation Rule, implemented in 2001, restricts road building, reconstruction, and timber harvesting in inventoried roadless areas, totaling about 60 million acres. According to the study, these areas protect over 80,000 miles of streams and rivers and supply watersheds that serve around 62,000 miles of rivers. The researchers estimate that roadless areas influence watersheds that provide public drinking water to at least 25 million people, including 21.3 million downstream of roadless-area boundaries.\n\nLead author Julian Olden, a professor at the University of Washington, emphasizes the importance of the rule in protecting both human well-being and biodiversity. He states that \"the roadless rule supports the drinking water supply for 25 million Americans\" and protects wildlife habitat and recreation assets. Randi Spivak, public lands policy director of the Center for Biological Diversity, highlights the far-reaching impact of stripping protection from these areas, stating that rivers in roadless areas are essential for both people and nature.\n\nThe study specifically mentions states where roadless-area-influenced watersheds supply significant numbers or shares of public water customers, such as California, Colorado, and New Mexico. Randi Spivak of the Center for Biological Diversity adds that the damage from removing protection would be far-reaching, with bulldozing roads through forests leading to polluted drinking water and increased fire risk.\n\nUSDA announced on June 23, 2025, its intention to rescind the 2001 rule, claiming it is overly restrictive and would give local forest managers more flexibility for wildfire prevention, forest management, and timber production. USDA argues that ending the rule would not authorize cutting trees or building roads but would allow local officials to make decisions regarding forest management. However, the study's authors argue that the proposal fails to recognize the critical role of the Roadless Rule in protecting America's headwaters and delivering clean drinking water to millions of people.",
  "summary": "\"The roadless rule supports the drinking water supply for 25 million Americans,\" the lead author of a recent study said.",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 1,
    "also_reported_by": []
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}