Forests and Water Relationship

Forests play an important role in providing us with clean water. An estimated 80 percent of our nation's freshwater resources originate from forests that cover about one-third of the United States.

Forests provide a number of essential economic, social, and environmental functions in addition to supplying us with the cleanest water of any land use. They absorb rainfall, refill groundwater aquifers, slow and filter stormwater runoff, reduce floods, and maintain watershed stability and resilience.

Learn more about the relationship between forests and water resources on the Texas Forest Service Water Resources Program website.