The Clean Water Actby Paula K. Worden

for Education 6305 Summer 2010

What is the Clean Water Act (CWA)?

The CWA is the primary federal law governing

water quality in the US

Goal of the CWA is to eliminate the release of highly toxic substances

into America's waterways

= Eliminating Water Pollution

So What Does the CWA Cover?

All waters with a "significant

nexus" to "navigable

waters"

What does that mean?

Case Law Says

waters of the United States, including the territorial seas

What does that mean?

Intermittent Streams

a stream that only flows for part of the year

Playa

a desert basin with no outlet

which periodically fills

with water to form a

temporary lake

Lakes

Prairie Potholes

a small wetland that

can be found in the grasslands of central

North America

Sloughs

A slough is a low-lying area of land that channels water through the Everglades

Wetlands

A wetland is an area of land in which soil is saturated with moisture either permanently or seasonally

Streams & Rivers

Oceans

So the CWA covers just about anything with water.

What kind of pollution does it regulate?

Point Sources

Pollution that can be traced to a definitive source

Like What?Industries & Manufacturing

Mining

Acid Mine Drainage

Oil & Gas Extraction

Agricultural Runoff

The CWA Also Covers Nonpoint Sources

Nonpoint sources of pollution are toxic substances and the origin is almost

impossible to trace

Like What?

Stormwater Runoff

Municipal Wastewater

How does the CWA protect against pollution?

Through permits & water quality standards

What are Water Quality Standards?

Rules set by states (approved by EPA) that determine the levels of pollution that

go into bodies of water (sewage, stormwater, etc.)

How do states determine how much pollution a body of water can take?

Each stream has a designated usage

Like Recreation

Water Supply

Aquatic Life

Agriculture

What happens if a body of water does not meet

Water Quality Standards?

Placed on the 303(d) list

What happens if a body of water does not meet

Water Quality Standards?

What happens if a body of water does not meet

Water Quality Standards?

Placed on the 303(d) list

TMDL

303(d) Listthe section of law covering bodies of water that do

not meet Water Quality Standards

What is a TMDL?

= Total Maximum Daily Load The equation that says how much pollution can go into a stream everyday

So Why does the US have a Clean Water Act?

=A series of environmental disasters in the

late 60’s and early 70’s

In 1969, bacteria levels in the Hudson River were at 170 times the safe limit

The FDA reported in

February 1971 that 87 percent

of swordfish samples had mercury at

levels that were unfit for human consumption.

Cuyahoga River Catches Fire

Near Cleveland, OH, a floating oil slick burst into flames

1969 Lake Thonotosassa Fish Kill

26 million killed in Lake Thonotosassa, FL, due to discharges from four food processing plants

By 1972 two-thirds of the country's lakes, rivers and coastal waters had become unsafe for fishing or

swimming. Untreated sewage was being dumped into open water.

Does the Clean Water Act Work?Even after 30 years of regulation, water pollution is still a big problem in the U.S. Today, 39% of the rivers, 45% of the lakes, and 51% of the estuaries monitored are contaminated

Clean Water Successes?

In 1997, (The 25th Anniversary of the CWA) more than 60 percent of the nation's waters now support

fishing and other uses, and while the U.S. population grew considerably since 1972, modern wastewater

treatment facilities helped pollutant levels in the nation's waters fall 36 percent.

But we still have a long way to go!

References:1. How Did the Clean Water Act Get Started http://drake.marin.k12.ca.us/stuwork/rockwater/The%20Clean%20Water%20Act/History%20and%20stories.html

2. Wikipedia. The Clean Water Act. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Clean_Water_Act

3. NOW with Bill Moyers. A Brief History of the Clean Water Act.http://www.pbs.org/now/science/cleanwater.html

4. Wikipedia. Mountain Top Removal. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mountaintop_removal_mining

5. Wikipedia. Intermittent Stream. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stream

6. Wikipedia. Playa. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Playa

7. US Forest Service. Wetlands Non-Tidal Marshes: Prairie Potholehttp://www.fws.gov/r5mnwr/lotw/wl-pothole.html

8. Wikiapedia. Wetlands. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wetland