Ok, thank you for the information. I need to do more research on this for sure, but it sounds like OSM could be a good route to take for permanent waterbody features, and that some groundwork is already in place.

I think watershed groups might also be interested in citizens identifying things that are not permanent features though, such as locations of concern like fish kill locations, construction site runoff problems, suspected spills, sites needing litter cleanup, etc, It sounds like OSM would not be appropriate for something like these because they can change. I envision a web app similar to http://www.citysourced.com but for specifically water-related features.

If anyone else is interested in helping with this effort, please let me know ([email protected]) because all I have right now is a concept and some contacts with watershed groups. I have desktop GIS (ArcGIS) experience but not really any programming or OSM experience, and I could definitely use some experienced, technical expertise to actually execute the vision.

Ok, I now see there is something called OpenSeaMap but that appears to focus on marine/coastal water features, not inland waters. I also see there is a WikiProject on Whitewater Maps (osm.wiki/WikiProject_Whitewater_Maps), so I need to examine that some more. I think what I envision is probably broader than just whitewater type features, and wouldn’t necessarily be just paddling-related, but able to identify water-related features of note.