Strengthening the Clean Water Act

We've come a long way since 1972, when the Clean Water Act promised clean, safe water for all Americans. Yet the promise is still unkept. A recent investigation by The New York Times found sewage overflowing treatment systems, farm runoff polluting wells and scores of illegal polluters escaping punishment.

While the Clean Water Act works to protect drinking water and iconic waterways such as the Great Lakes, under a recent Supreme Court decision it does not protect many of the smaller streams and rivers that feed these waterways. In October, Environment Ohio released a report, "Wasting Our Waterways: Industrial Toxic Pollution and the Unfulfilled Promise of the Clean Water Act." In it, we showed that industrial facilities dumped more than 9 million pounds of toxic chemicals into Ohio waterways in 2007, the date for which the most recent data is available.

Among the toxic chemicals discharged by facilities are lead, mercury, and dioxin. When dumped into waterways, these toxic chemicals contaminate drinking water and are absorbed by the fish that people eventually eat. Exposure to these chemicals is linked to cancer, developmental disorders and reproductive disorders.

Of the 1,900 waterways nationwide into which toxic chemicals were discharged, the Ohio River received the most: 31 million pounds. The Ohio also received the greatest amount of discharges of chemicals linked to cancer, and also of chemicals linked to reproductive disorders.

While nearly half of the rivers and lakes in the United States are considered too polluted for safe fishing or swimming, our report showed that polluters continue to use our waterways as dumping grounds for their toxic chemicals.

To protect the waterways we treasure for their beauty, recreational use and drinking water, we need to make sure all of Ohio's surface waters are protected. Tougher enforcement, money to upgrade sewage plants and steps to prevent pollution at the source are common-sense ways we can turn the tide against toxic pollution. We're working to make sure Congress passes the Clean Water Restoration Act.