The Clean Water Act- Forty Years Later

In my opinion, heavy, detrimental polluting of our waterways started with the Industrial Revolution. The dumping of industrial waste was unregulated, and lead to some severe pollution in many areas. One of the things that helped spark a revolution with water laws was in 1969, when the Cuyahoga River caught on fire. Yes, you read that right. The river was so polluted with oil and God knows what else that it actually caught on fire. And I was surprised to learn, from my research for this article, that the river didn't catch on fire just once. The Cuyahoga River had caught on fire nine times since 1868. I wonder why it was the fire in 1969 that broke the camel's back. Perhaps that fire came at a time when the environmental revolution was starting to pick up. After a lot of regulation and clean up, the river's water quality has improved, and the Cuyahoga river is now one of the American Heritage Rivers. And of course, there are no more fires on the river.


One of the laws inspired from the 1969 Cuyahoga River fire was the Clean Water Act. The original statute was passed in 1948, but there have been many amendments and additions (another thing I learned!); a major one and the one most people people refer to is the Clean Water Act of 1972. The Clean Water Act set quality standards for surface water and set down regulation for discharging pollutants.


So how much of an impact has the Clean Water Act had, at least here in New Jersey? 


The state's waterways are definitely better than they were, as there is no more widespread and rampant pollution, but are New Jersey's waterways clean at all? 


According to a report by the Asbury Park Press, no. Except for one that is. The Big  Flat Brook, located in Stokes State Forest in Sussex County (Funnily enough, the School of Conservation, the field station owned by my school, is also located in Stokes State Forest and really close to the Big Flat Brook) is the only waterway in New Jersey to pass all of the water quality tests. Apparently is is safe to drink after basic treatment (which I assume is to filter out the suspended solids). You can also swim in it and eat the fish with no restrictions.


I'm not saying that the Clean Water Act has been useless. It just isn't having a big enough impact. There are too many variables when it comes to things that affect water quality. All of those variables need to align correctly to ensure good water quality. And as we all probably know, Murphy's Law usually prevails. 


So what should be done to allow the maximum benefits of the Clean Water Act? First of all we need better enforcement. That proves to be tricky however, because that requires more manpower, time, and money. Perhaps we need to create incentives for offending companies to follow regulations closely?


Another thing is to stop passing stupid laws like the one that allows waivers to be granted for homeowners or businesses to pollute on a case by case basis. The law is the law, so why are we creating exceptions?


And lastly, we need more public education. Getting the masses to cooperate with environmental regulation and become aware of problems is the key to making lasting changes, in my opinion.


Sources:  Ohio History Central, Digest of Federal Resource Laws of Interest to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Summary of the Clean Water Act,