The Federal Clean Water Act

The Clean Water Act, passed in 1972, protects our clean, healthy waters from harm and requires we restore our impaired ones.

To ensure that surface waters are fishable and swimmable, the Clean Water Act protects their chemical, physical, and biological integrity. Towards this broad goal, the Act mandates two elements be met for each water body. A water body should:

• Sustain its designated uses, including uses for drinking water, recreation, fishing, species and their habitats, or agricultural/industrial water supply.
  
  
• Meet specific criteria designed to protect these uses. There are numerous water quality standards measured, including waters' pH, biologic community, temperature, flow, and concentrations of dissolved oxygen, nutrients, metals and pathogens. Waters meeting these standards are considered healthy; to protect them, states employ strategies to prevent degradation.

If, however, a water body is impaired by one or more pollutant[s] states are required to try to bring it back to health. States can do this by implementing a water body-specific Total Maximum Daily Load requirement (effectively a "pollution budget") or a watershed-based strategy.

The US Environmental Protection Agency implements The Act's regulatory measures in most states (including Massachusetts), such as managing point-source discharges. US EPA also implements The Act's non-regulatory components, including supporting non point source pollution reduction and prevention programs such as the CWA Section 319 Program.

For more information, contact Carolyn LaMarre at the TRWA office: (508) 828-1101