Developing the Great American Compact.
The Center for Water Security and Cooperation is mobilizing local, Tribal, state, and federal leaders across the Mississippi River watershed to develop the first ever interstate water compact for the Mississippi River, one of the most critically important watersheds in the world.
Join us in refounding the Mississippi River and watershed.
The Center for Water Security and Cooperation is leading the process to develop an interstate water compact for the Mississippi River watershed, grounded in local and Tribal voices and experiences. The Mississippi River watershed is critical to the economic, environmental, community, and water security of the United States, yet there lacks a cohesive vision and collaborative platform on which to safeguard that security. Through a first-of-its-kind process, the CWSC is starting an interstate water compact development process with local communities and Tribal Nations from across the Mississippi River watershed leading the development of the compact. This compact will seek to address holistically the multiple challenges facing the river
Compacts are an opportunity for communities and states to come together, work through shared challenges and interests, and develop an ongoing structure and forum for shared decision-making and action. They take the pressure off any one community to address challenges caused by actions or activities beyond their control. Most importantly, compacts acknowledge that each and every community and state within the watershed is in this together by promoting cooperation, collaboration, and joint problem solving versus competition and mine v. yours thinking.
**Sign up for our Newsletter dedicated to the Mississippi River watershed to stay informed and check out previous issues: HERE.
Local and Tribal Leaders: Join us!
1. Learn more.
Bring your experience and expertise to the development of a compact for the Mississippi River watershed, and identify the shared values and principles that will define the future of the watershed and fuel cooperation between communities.
Learn more.2. Review the Agreement.
Commit to collaboration and cooperation in the watershed, and lead the development of a regional framework to celebrate and protect the river, watershed, and communities.
The Agreement.3. Have questions?
Ask us anything. Set up a meeting with the CWSC to get to know us, ask any additional questions, make suggestions, or brainstorm your Implementation Plan.
Email us.4. Sign the Agreement.
Join the Mayors and Tribal Leaders who have already signed. Sign and you're in!
The Signature Page.5. Share your plans for the river.
To support collaboration across communities within the watershed, share 2-5 current, planned, or new activities you have planned related to the river and your community.
Plan Template.6. Attend the consultations.
Lead the development of the interstate water compact starting in October 2026.
Updates posted soon.STEERING COMMITTEE
The local and Tribal leaders who have signed the Mississippi River Local and Tribal Leaders Agreement and become a member of the Steering Committee include:
- Bemidji, MN
- Brooklyn Park, MN
- Lake City, MN
- Rochester, MN
- Red Lake Band of Chippewa Indians
- White Earth Nation
- Lower Minnesota River Watershed District
- Mississippi Watershed Management Organization
- La Crosse, WI
- Bettendorf, IA
- Davenport, IA
- Riverdale, IA
- Rock Island, IL
- Grafton, IL
- Alton, IL
- Clarksville, MO
- St. Louis, MO
- Tiptonville, TN
- Blytheville, AR
- Marion, AR
- Vicksburg, MS
- Natchez, MS
- Vidalia, LA
- Gretna, LA
- St. Gabriel, LA
- United Houma Nation
EDUCATIONAL AND INFORMATIONAL RESOURCES.
We have prepared briefs and other informational and educational materials, with recommendations for how to put them into practice, to give you even more ideas and tools to be a powerful leader for your community and the Mississippi River watershed.
Data centers are not going away. But, data centers are not the problem. Nor are the companies that want to build them. The problem is the lack of federal, state, and local laws that provide structure, transparency, and fairness to data center development and ongoing operation. This brief explores specific examples of proposed and adopted state legislation across the United States that seeks to ensure transparency and community protection are pillars of data center development. Examples of legislation fall into four main categories: (1) protecting residential ratepayers, (2) guaranteeing transparency, (3) temporarily pausing construction, and (4) supporting healthy, sustainable development.
Read the brief HERE.
Nitrogen and phosphorus pollution come from different sources: agriculture, wastewater and septic systems, urban stormwater, industrial discharges, and atmospheric deposition. The impacts of too much nitrogen and phosphorus are felt by humans, animals, the environment, and businesses. But there are changes that can be made to our laws and policies that allow nutrients to be used, but in a way that protects water resources, human health, and economic investments.
Read the brief HERE.
In a January 2026 report, the United Nations found that the planet has entered an era of Global Water Bankruptcy. The report, entitled Global Water Bankruptcy: Living Beyond Our Hydrological Means in the Post-Crisis Era, makes the case for the critical role that local and national governments have in ensuring their communities and the communities within their watershed and their country have the water they need to exist and innovate. This makes it the perfect time to develop a shared policy framework with us! (United Nations).
Read the brief HERE.
Wetlands are a unique part of the hydrological landscape. Wetlands offer many benefits to communities—from flood control to water quality enhancement that makes communities safer and more water secure. Read this brief to learn more about wetlands, their many benefits, and examples of different actions you can take to protect wetlands near you.
Read the brief HERE.
In our first deep dive of the Watershed Security series, we explore how water and energy are interconnected. This brief answers two questions:
1) How does energy generation need water and impact water?
2) How do water processes, like the processes to treat our water and wastewater, need energy?
Read the brief HERE.
Looking for an easy way to show your support for Mississippi River watershed communities and greater collaboration?
If you’re a local government…
If you’re a Tribal government…
If you’re a State government…
Adopt a resolution showing your support for the watershed and greater collaboration across the watershed.
See the Resolution for Local Governments HERE.
See the Resolution for Tribal Nations HERE.
See the Executive Order for Governors HERE.
In Connections, we illustrate the interconnectedness of actions, events, activities, decisions, and impacts. Why? Because water is complex, but it should not be a mystery. In our second connection we illustrate the connection between activities that impact water quality and drinking water quality and access. How is your community managing these interconnections? See the Connection HERE.
The decisions we make about water in our community, state, and country have impacts outside of that community, state, and country. While we may prefer to make decisions at certain levels, water requires collaborative thinking. Interstate water compacts enable states to combine forces and maximize the benefits of their experience and expertise to meet challenges and achieve shared goals. Read the brief HERE.
Water security is an actionable framework for understanding and prioritizing water needs to protect your community. This brief explains what it means to achieve water security and is the first in a special series dedicated to advancing water security in the Mississippi River watershed. Read the brief HERE.
While data centers respond to a growing need for computing power to support AI, e-commerce, and cloud computing, they put additional strain on water and energy supplies. This brief explains what a data center is and provides examples of what communities can do to be smart about bringing a data center into their community. Read the brief HERE.
In Connections, we illustrate the interconnectedness of actions, events, activities, decisions, and impacts. Why? Because water is complex, but it does not have to be overwhelming. In our first connection we illustrate the impact of drought on farmers, from increased costs to cancelled barge exports. See the Connection HERE.
This brief describes the plastics problem in the Mississippi River watershed and current efforts to reduce plastics pollution. It also provides examples of what communities can do to help reduce plastics winding up in the river. Read the brief HERE.
This brief describes the Mississippi River watershed and the importance of watershed management to local communities. It includes recommendations for how, as a leader and a community, to connect to the watershed. Read the brief HERE.
INTERVIEWS WITH LEADERS.
There are incredible leaders up and down the Mississippi River and across the watershed. We are interviewing leaders to give them a chance to share their story and wisdom, and to give you a chance to connect even more deeply with these leaders, their communities, and the experiences within the watershed.
In this interview, Mayor Goins, who signed the Mississippi River Local and Tribal Leaders Agreement earlier in 2025, kicks off our Interview Series and shares what the Mississippi River means to him and how he is working to bring his community closer to the watershed. Read the interview HERE.
Join us as a Future of the River Advisor.
Future of the River Advisors are leaders at nonprofit and for profit organizations that, like the Local and Tribal Leaders, seek to strengthen collaboration between communities and build regional policy for the watershed from the local level.
FUTURE OF THE RIVER ADVISORS (FORA)
Organizations who have signed the Mississippi River Local and Tribal Leaders Agreement and joined us as Future of the River Advisors (FORA):
- American Rivers
- Audubon
- Freshwater
- Friends of the Mississippi River
- Hispanic Access Foundation
- Hubbell Environmental Law Initiative (University of Iowa College of Law)
- MidAmerica Clean Future Alliance
- Midwest Climate Collaborative
- Native American Rights Fund (NARF)
- National Council of Environmental Legislators (NCEL)
- National Wildlife Federation
- Office of the Lt. Governor, State of Louisiana
- One Mississippi
- Sierra Club
- The Water Collaborative
- The Water Institute
- Tulane Institute on Water Resources Law & Policy
- University of Wisconsin-La Crosse
INFORMATION ABOUT JOINING THE NETWORK.
Access more information about joining the Network as a Local or Tribal Leader or as a Future of the River Advisor.
The official Mississippi River Local and Tribal Leaders Agreement text.
A two-pager that answers all your questions about the Agreement and how to get involved.
A two-page template for Local and Tribal Leaders to complete to identify their 2-5 commitments to the Mississippi River watershed.
The Terms of Reference for joining as a Future of the River Advisor.