Photo above shows how a mountain town makes WATER a destination.  No lake or major river there--and yet the town provides an attraction and amenity to the community.

Columbus.  Cow town.  No lake...but they have a river and they make it work. 
http://www.sciotomile.com/

CLE+!  LAKE and RIVER....what's the matter with us??

http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/694835844/pool-tile-by-tile

+ POOL is designed to filter the very river that it floats in through the walls of the pool, making it possible for New Yorkers to swim in clean river water for the first time in 100 years.  The layered filtration system incrementally removes bacteria and contaminants to ensure nothing but clean, swimmable water that meets both city and state standards. No chemicals, no additives, just natural river water.

The pool will clean up to half a million gallons of river water every single day.  In doing so, + POOL will make a measurable contribution to the rivers of New York City.  The rivers are big, and this will be a great place to start cleaning them.