Clean Water Act facts for kids

The Clean Water Act (CWA) is a very important federal law in the United States. Its main goal is to stop water pollution and make sure our nation's waters are clean and healthy. This means keeping them safe for fish, wildlife, and people.

The law also helps states deal with pollution. It gives them support, including money, to improve wastewater treatment plants. It also works to protect wetlands, which are super important natural areas.

The Clean Water Act is one of the first and most powerful environmental laws in the U.S. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) mainly manages this law, working with state governments. Some parts of the law, like those about filling or dredging, are handled by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.

The official name of this law is the Federal Water Pollution Control Act. It first started in 1948, but it was completely updated and rewritten in 1972. This big update was called the Federal Water Pollution Control Act Amendments of 1972. Later, more changes were added, like the Clean Water Act of 1977 and the Water Quality Act (WQA) of 1987.

It's important to know that the Clean Water Act doesn't directly deal with groundwater contamination. Other laws, like the Safe Drinking Water Act, Resource Conservation and Recovery Act, and the Superfund act, help protect groundwater.

Quick facts for kids
Clean Water Act

Other short titles	Federal Water Pollution Control Act Amendments of 1972
Long title	An Act to amend the Federal Water Pollution Control Act.
Acronyms (colloquial)	CWA
Enacted by	the 92nd United States Congress
Effective	October 18, 1972
Citations
Public law	92-500
Statutes at Large	86 Stat. 816
Codification
Acts amended	Federal Water Pollution Control Act
Titles amended	33 U.S.C.: Navigable Waters
U.S.C. sections created	33 U.S.C. §§ 1251–1387
U.S.C. sections amended	33 U.S.C. ch. 23 § 1151
Legislative history
Introduced in the Senate as S. 2770 by Edmund Muskie (D–ME) on October 28, 1971 Committee consideration by Senate Public Works Committee Passed the Senate on November 2, 1971 (86-0) Passed the House on March 29, 1972 (passed) Reported by the joint conference committee on October 4, 1972; agreed to by the House on October 4, 1972 (366-11) and by the Senate on October 4, 1972 (74-0) Vetoed by President Richard Nixon on October 17, 1972 Overridden by the Senate on October 17, 1972 (52-12) Overridden by the House and became law on October 18, 1972 (247-23)
Major amendments
Clean Water Act of 1977; Water Quality Act of 1987; Clean Boating Act of 2008; Water Infrastructure Finance and Innovation Act of 2014; America's Water Infrastructure Act of 2018
United States Supreme Court cases
EI duPont de Nemours & Co. v. Train, 430 U.S. 112 (1977) Costle v. Pacific Legal Foundation, 445 U.S. 198 (1980) EPA v. Nat'l Crushed Stone Assn., 449 U.S. 64 (1980) City of Milwaukee v. Illinois, 451 U.S. 304 (1981) Weinberger v. Romero-Barcelo, 456 U.S. 305 (1982) Chemical Manufacturers Assn. v. NRDC, 470 U.S. 116 (1985) United States v. Riverside Bayview, 474 U.S. 121 (1985) Department of Energy v. Ohio, 503 U.S. 607 (1992) PUD No. 1 of Jefferson Cty. v. Washington Dept. of Ecology, 511 U.S. 700 (1994) Solid Waste Agency of Northern Cook County v. Army Corps of Engineers, 531 U.S. 159 (2001) Borden Ranch Partnership v. Army Corps of Engineers, 537 U.S. 99 (2002) South Florida Water Management District v. Miccosukee Tribe, 541 U.S. 95 (2004) S. D. Warren Co. v. Maine Board of Environmental Protection, 547 U.S. 370 (2006) Rapanos v. United States, 547 U.S. 715 (2006) National Ass'n of Home Builders v. Defenders of Wildlife, 551 U.S. 644 (2007) Entergy Corp. v. Riverkeeper Inc., 556 U.S. 208 (2009) Coeur Alaska, Inc. v. Southeast Alaska Conservation Council, 557 U.S. 261 (2009) Sackett v. EPA I, 566 U.S. 120 (2012) Los Angeles County Flood Control District v. Natural Resources Defense Council, Inc., 568 U.S. 78 (2013) Decker v. Northwest Environmental Defense Center, 568 U.S. 597 (2013) Army Corps of Engineers v. Hawkes Co., No. 15-290, 578 U.S. ___ (2016) National Association of Manufacturers v. Department of Defense, No. 16-299, 583 U.S. ___ (2018) County of Maui v. Hawaii Wildlife Fund, No. 18-260, 590 U.S. ___ (2020) Sackett v. EPA II, No. 21-454, 598 U.S. ___ (2023) City and County of San Francisco v. EPA, No. 23-753, ___ U.S. ___ (2025)

How the Clean Water Act Helps

The Clean Water Act has made a big difference in cleaning up water across the U.S. Before this law, many waterways were much dirtier.

Cleaner Waterways Today

Since the law was passed in 1972, pollution levels have dropped a lot. This means our rivers, lakes, and coastal areas are much cleaner. However, there's still work to do.

Remaining Challenges

Even with the Clean Water Act, some water quality goals haven't been fully met. For example, the original goals were to make all U.S. waters safe for fishing and swimming by 1983. Another goal was to have zero water pollution by 1985. These goals haven't been reached everywhere.

More than half of U.S. streams and rivers still have water quality issues. About 70% of lakes and reservoirs, and 90% of surveyed ocean areas, also have problems.

Sources of Pollution

Pollution comes from different places. Major sources include farms (agriculture), factories (industry), and cities (urban runoff). Some of these pollution sources are hard to control with national rules. For example, nutrient pollution (too much nitrogen and phosphorus) from farms is a big issue in many areas.

Continuing Efforts

Experts agree that the Clean Water Act has done a lot of good for the environment. But they also say it needs updates to deal with today's pollution problems. The law has been very good at controlling pollution from specific "point sources" like pipes from factories. However, it's been less effective at controlling "nonpoint sources" like runoff from farms or city streets.

Studies show that most types of water pollution went down between 1962 and 2001. This means the Clean Water Act really helped. While there are costs to cleaning up water, the benefits of healthier water are huge for everyone.

Learn More About Water Protection

• America's Water Infrastructure Act of 2018
• Coastal Zone Management Act
• Great Lakes Areas of Concern
• Ocean Dumping Act
• Oil Pollution Act of 1990
• Safe Drinking Water Act
• Water supply and sanitation in the United States
• Mitigation banking