The Clean Water Act and Water Pollution

Written by: Caroline Kim

December 5, 2021

Something I’ve recently looked into this past week is the Clean Water Act (CWA), formerly known as the Federal Water Pollution Control Act. Essentially, the EPA (U.S. Environmental Protection Agency) can control pollution and water quality (surface water only) in U.S. waters through the CWA. This act was created as a result of increasing concern in the environment and the state of the nation’s waters. Though it was originally outlined in 1948, it was significantly amended in 1972, and again in 1977. The CWA helps maintain existing water quality requirements, funds the construction of several water treatment plants and prevents individuals from discharging any pollutants from a point source (wastewater treatments, factories, and sewage treatments) into navigable waters.

Even though the earth has more water than land, more than 99% of that water is unusable by humans, only increasing the importance of how we regulate usable water. Around 80% of wastewater in the world is dumped into the environment in an untreated state, dangerously polluting waters. 1.2 million deaths are caused by unsafe water each year. Therefore, containing water pollution, the contamination of bodies of water by substances that threaten humans/the environment, is a goal worth working towards. Groundwater, which many Americans rely on, is an underground network of waters which means it can easily become polluted and spread to oceans, lakes, and streams. Surface water, which is what we refer to when talking about rivers/oceans/lakes, is relied on not only by humans but also by many other living things in the environment; because it is on the surface, we often find that trash is directly dumped into surface water such as in local parks.

Now, how do we prevent water pollution? Just this weekend my school’s Green Club hosted a trash pick-up event at our local park. We were able to find about 6 large-sized trash bags within just 2 hours. And yes, most of it was picked up near the stream. Picking up litter is an easy and effective way to prevent water pollution; you can also compost your yard waste and wash your car so that the water drains into a grassy area rather than into the street. Pick up some trash today!

Sources:

EPA, Environmental Protection Agency, https://www.epa.gov/laws-regulations/summary-clean-water-act.

EPA, Environmental Protection Agency, https://www.epa.gov/cwa-404/clean-water-laws-regulations-and-executive-orders-related-section-404.

National Geographic Society. “Earth's Freshwater.” National Geographic Society, 9 Nov. 2012, https://www.nationalgeographic.org/media/earths-fresh-water/.

May 14, 2018 Melissa Denchak. “Water Pollution: Everything You Need to Know.” NRDC, 9 Nov. 2021, https://www.nrdc.org/stories/water-pollution-everything-you-need-know.

Ritchie, Hannah, and Max Roser. “Clean Water.” Our World in Data, 1 July 2021, https://ourworldindata.org/water-access#:~:text=Water%20and%20Sanitation-,Summary,access%20to%20safe%20drinking%20water.

“6 Ways to Prevent Water Pollution.” Raleighnc.gov, https://raleighnc.gov/SupportPages/6-ways-prevent-water-pollution.