Clean Water Act Pros And Cons

The Clean Water Act:

The Clean Water Act was created to restore and support the chemical, physical, and biological integrity of the nation's waters by preventing point and nonpoint pollution sources. (Clean Water Act (CWA), 2014) The first law that addressed water pollution was the Federal Water Pollution Control Act of 1948. Then the Federal Water Pollution Control Act of 1948 was then amended in 1972 and became known as the Clean Water Act. (History of the Clean Water Act, 2014)

The Federal Water Control Act of 1948 was authorized by Surgeon General of the Public Health Service and Federal, state, and local entities. The plan was to prepare programs for eliminating or reducing the pollution of interstate waters, rivers, and streams; improving the sanitary conditions of surface and underground waters. Then over twenty years later amendments were added to the Federal Water Pollution Control Act to provide continued authority to conduct program activities or administrative changes. (Federal Water Pollution Control Act (Clean Water Act), n.d.) In 1972 the amendments established basic structure for regulating pollutants discharges into the water, gave EPA authority to make pollution control

programs, maintained existing requirements to set water quality standards for all contaminants in surface waters, and Recognized the need for planning to address the critical problems posed by nonpoint source pollution. (History of the Clean Water Act, 2014)

The Clean Water Act is enforced by the EPA (Environmental Protection Agency).

The EPA regulates discharges of pollutants from municipal and industrial wastewater treatment plants, sewer collection systems, and storm water discharges. Overflows of raw sewage and inefficiently controlled storm water discharges from sewer systems can end up in waterways or cause backups into city streets or basements threatening water quality. EPA also enforces requirements to make sure that industries pre-treat pollutants in their wastes in order to protect local sanitary sewers and wastewater treatment plants. The EPA investigates and inspects those discharging material into wetlands and other waters of the United States without proper permits. (Water Enforcement,

2015)

The Safe Drinking Water Act is a result of the Clean Water Act. It ensures that the nation’s public drinking water supply and its sources are protected. The EPA make sure that public water systems follow the health based federal standards for contaminants, which includes performing regular monitoring and reporting. (Water Enforcement, 2015)

Over twenty-five years the Clean Water Act has improved the quality of water in the United States. Twenty five years ago only one-third of the United States water was safe for fishing and swimming; today two-thirds of the water is safe for fishing and swimming. Also wetland losses were about 460,000 acres per year and now it is down to 70,000 to 90,000 acres lost per year. (Martins, n.d.)