Amazon's water conservation and replenishment efforts around the world

Recent Updates May 6, 2026 6:00 AM Share Amazon supports California watershed restoration through innovative Forest Resilience Bond Amazon is supporting watershed restoration in the Upper Mokelumne River Basin within Eldorado National Forest, a critical drinking water source for San Francisco’s East Bay.

The project uses a Forest Resilience Bond, an innovative financing model developed by Blue Forest and the World Resources Institute, which blends public and private funding to accelerate forest restoration at a scale and pace that public funding alone cannot achieve. Key collaborators include the Upper Mokelumne River Watershed Authority (UMRWA), U. S.

Forest Service, the Miwok and Washoe Tribes, and utilities like East Bay Municipal Utility District (EBMUD) and Pacific Gas & Electric Company (PG&E). The forest filters, stores, and regulates the region's water supply, but like many Western forests, the region is increasingly vulnerable to wildfires after decades of unchecked vegetation growth.

Restoration work—including mechanical and hand thinning, and native tree restoration in degraded areas—will take place ahead of wildfire season this spring and summer. These efforts reduce fire risk and vegetative water demand while increasing the amount of water that reaches communities that depend on it.

The 26,000-acre restoration project, overseen by UMRWA, is expected to increase downstream water availability by more than 264 million gallons annually—equivalent to roughly 400 Olympic swimming pools—and support the protection of several vulnerable species, including the Sierra Nevada yellow-legged frog and California spotted owl.

The project is also designed to provide additional wildfire protection across Alpine, Amador, Calaveras, and El Dorado counties with watershed and water quality benefits are also expected to reach communities in San Joaquin, Alameda, and Contra Costa counties.

"No single organization, agency, or community can solve the wildfire crisis alone,” says Nick Wobbrock, co-founder and chief conservation officer at Blue Forest. “Reducing catastrophic wildfire risk, protecting water quality and quantity, and safeguarding the communities in between—these are shared challenges that demand shared solutions.

Blue Forest was built on the belief that when the right partners come together around proven science with innovative funding and financing, we can restore resilience at a landscape scale.” This project reflects Amazon’s aim to be a responsible water steward in communities where we operate and adds to our more than 45 water replenishment projects globally.