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John,

Next time you take a sip of clean water, you might want to thank a tree.

Forests -- especially ones that have remained undisturbed for decades -- are intricately connected to all of our planet's systems.

But while you may be familiar with trees helping keep our air clean, you may not know that 150 million people in the United States also have forests to thank for filtering at least some of their drinking water.[1]

Here's how old-growth forests produce clean water, a journey that highlights just one more reason they deserve our protection.

A silver sheen of rain comes hushing out of heavy storm clouds, shuddering the leaves of the trees in an old-growth forest, running down their trunks, and soaking into the rich soil at their roots. This is where your clean drinking water's journey begins.

The trees' root systems guide that rainwater through the forest's dark soil in a process called infiltration. And old-growth forests are especially good at this. The more intricate the root systems, and the more build-up a forest has of organic matter, the better it is at filtering pollutants and excessive nutrient levels before they reach waterways.

Once the water has been filtered through this complex web of soil and tree roots, it's able to replenish groundwater sources and refill streams, ponds and lakes. From there, it can be collected to be processed as drinking water or evaporate to form condensation ... starting the whole process over again.

Simply by existing, these old trees improve raw water quality, making it easier and cheaper to turn that water into something that can safely pour out of your tap.[2]

Our planet is full of amazing natural systems that have been sustaining themselves for millions of years. But when we disrupt those systems, we lose some of our greatest tools for keeping our air, water and natural spaces clean and healthy.

And the sad truth is, many of these incredible old-growth forests are on the chopping block. We're working to make logging and clear-cutting off-limits in our nation's oldest forests. Let's protect the mighty trees that have survived for hundreds of years, the wildlife that call them home, and the complex ecosystems they support -- before they're gone for good.

Thank you for being part of this work,

Ellen Montgomery

P.S. Our work to protect old-growth forests from logging wouldn't be possible without people like you. Will you donate today to help defend our oldest trees?
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1. Ellen Montgomery, "America's Oldest Forests and Clean Drinking Water," Environment America Research & Policy Center, February 22, 2025.
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2. Ellen Montgomery, "America's Oldest Forests and Clean Drinking Water," Environment America Research & Policy Center, February 22, 2025.
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