This dataset includes dissolved organic radiocarbon content and dissolved organic carbon concentration data for river waters around the globe. The riverine dataset contains already published (n=1163) and new (n=101) data between the years 1962 and 2015. Soil solution data (n=139) from North American and European natural and semi-natural ecosystems are also included, which cover the period 1988 to 2008. Groundwater data containing 49 data points from boreholes in Europe and North America are also provided. Extra data including sampling dates, locations, stable isotope (13C), water quality and qualitative descriptions of the catchments are included in the dataset.