Environmental Science / Unit 6: Water Resources and Pollution
6.6 Water Laws
Notes
Laws protect water quality in the US.
- Clean Water Act (1972): regulates discharges of pollutants into US waters and sets quality standards. It requires permits for point sources.
- Safe Drinking Water Act (1974): sets standards for public drinking water supplies.
- The EPA (Environmental Protection Agency) enforces these laws.
- Nonpoint pollution is more difficult to regulate because there is no single source to permit.
- Debates exist about balancing costs for farmers, industry, and cities against benefits to health and ecosystems.
- Example: a factory needs a permit before discharging wastewater into a river.
Practice
Which law regulates the discharge of pollutants into US waters?
The Clean Water Act (1972) sets pollution limits and requires permits for point sources.
The Safe Drinking Water Act primarily sets standards for:
It protects the quality of water delivered to people.
Why is nonpoint source pollution harder to regulate than point source pollution?
Pollution from many scattered sources is hard to trace and control.
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