Clean Water Act turns 40

Today marks the official 40th anniversary of the Clean Water Act becoming law. The milestone has spurred a number of editorial content across the Internet - from Kristen Bell to the National Geographic. On this blog, I've already highlighted the law, its effect on pollution mitigation, and where the law currently falls short meeting our water management needs today here. Managers and commenters across the web have raised other issues that should be addressed in order to strengthen the CWA and water policy in the United States:

- Clarify the scope of the act to include small tributaries and waters that have ecological impacts on the waters of the United States (National Geographic)

- Focus on policy mechanisms to address non-point source pollution like fertilizer run-off and urban stormwater (LA Times)

- Retrofit urban and rural water infrastructure to meet current and future needs more efficiently (LA Times), especially sewage treatment plants (NY Times)

The benefits of the 1972 Clean Water Act are obvious. The Chattanoogan lists some of the statistics:

• The number of Americans receiving clean drinking water has increased from 79 percent in 1993 to 92 percent in 2007;
• More than 2,000 water bodies identified as impaired in 2002 now meet water quality standards;
• 60 percent more Americans were served by publicly-owned wastewater treatment facilities from 1968 to 2008.

The act was passed by a bi-partisan Congress. In today's political context, it's difficult to imagine a bi-partisan effort that would strengthen the CWA. But that's exactly what needs to happen in order for our country to face the coming water-related crises.