Few people in modern America have as much direct contact with river water as paddlers do. River water enters our bodies every time we go paddling through our mouths, noses, ears, eyes, and any cuts or scrapes we may have. Few of us would scoop up a glass of water from the rivers we paddle and drink it, but in many ways that is exactly what we do every time we go paddling. While little to no data actually exists on the health impacts associated with paddling, we all know that rivers can and do make us sick. We get ear infections, sinus infections, skin infections, digestive parasites and disorders and a variety of other nasty physical impacts - all because we love paddling. Because paddlers are one of the communities most impacted by pollution we should also be among the strongest advocates for clean and healthy rivers.

One of the biggest barriers to our understanding of the impacts of pollution on paddler health is the fact that we don't even know when spills or routine sewage overflows happen. This problem would be fixed by the Raw Sewage Overflow Community Right-to-Know Act of 2007 (H.R.2452), introduced by Congressman Timothy Bishop (D-NY) and Congressman Frank LoBiondo (R-NJ). This legislation would amend the Federal Water Pollution Control Act to ensure that sewage treatment plants monitor for and report discharges of raw sewage.

We support the broad-based coalition of national, state and local conservation groups striving to protect rivers from the rising tide of sewage pollution. Check out the animated cartoon of "Flushie's Summer Vacation" (check it out below). We are asking our members to help out by posting a photo and comment that shows how you feel about Flushie's cross-country antics at www.healthyrivers.org/actnow. These messages will be shared with members of Congress next month. To learn more about the Act for Healthy Rivers campaign check out www.healthyrivers.org.