 | Vol. 4 No. 2 Fall 1996 |
| A Newsletter About New Jersey's Water Quality Programs |
A National Perspective
What Two Decades of Clean Water Improvements Can Do
The Federal Water Pollution Control Act Amendments of 1972, known as the Clean Water Act, made sweeping changes in how the nation approached its water pollution problems. In the early 1970s, reports were all too frequent of fish disappearing from rivers and streams, lakes choked with algae, and beaches closed to swimming and shellfishing.
With increased population and expanded economic development, since 1972, there has been both a greater demand for industrial, municipal, and recreational use of our waters and a tremendous increase in pollution to be addressed. Therefore, it is most significant that the United States has
not only maintained its water quality, but made remarkable improvements.
Between 1972 - 1992
- For Rivers and Streams, 98% of miles maintained or improved quality, while only 2% were degraded.
- For Lakes, 96% of acres maintained or improved quality, while only 4% were degraded.
In 1992, 69% of river miles, 57% of lake acres, 71% of estuary square miles, and 89% of linear coastal miles assessed fully supported their designated uses.
How have these improvements come about?
- Improved municipal and industrial wastewater treatment,
- Enhanced water quality management programs, and
- Expanded focus on nonpoint source pollution and ground water protection programs.
Between 1972 and 1992, municipal wastewater expanded dramatically, for example:
- In 1972, over 34 million people were served by municipal systems that provided no wastewater treatment or had only primary treatment. In 1992, this number was reduced to 1.15 million.
- Advanced treatment was expanded from 5.7 million people served in 1972 to over 60 million in 1992.
Achieving these and other improvements has required a governmental investment of over $84 billion in wastewater treatment since 1972. The corporate investment in pollution control is estimated to be more than twice that amount. In every state, citizens can point to restored waterbodies that improved the quality of life and economic vitality.
- In 1992, 90% of major municipalities and 93% of major industries with permits were in significant compliance.
State water quality management programs expanded to give better environmental protection
- Water quality standards, the foundation upon which state water quality programs are built, included an average of 158 pollutant criteria in 1992 in comparison to only 5 in 1972. This expansion has helped states make better decisions, set priorities, and control pollution.
- State and national monitoring programs have become more sophisticated and now include comprehensive information collection to assess pollution and ecosystem needs. Enhanced monitoring capabilities have resulted in more effective water quality programs.
- In 1972, there was no national permit program. By 1992, permits restricting water pollution had been issued to more than 64,000 point source dischargers.
- In 1992 alone, states allocated, from federal and state sources, more than $450 million for surface water program implementation and more than $200 million for ground water protection.
Programs moved forward to control nonpoint source pollution and protect ground water
Relatively few nonpoint source protection programs existed in 1972. In contrast, all 50 states had such programs in 1992.
Since 1972, state ground water programs have also greatly expanded, to the point that virtually all states have comprehensive programs. In 1992, for example, 27 states and territories had USEPA-approved wellhead protection
programs.
As states look toward the future of water quality protection, it is important to identify the challenges that remain. They include:
- Continuing to control point source pollution,
- Maintaining and improving existing programs in the face of increasing budgetary pressures,
- Expanding nonpoint source protection,
- Developing and implementing state approaches to watershed or ecosystem protection,
- Coordinating federal ground water programs with state and local efforts, and
- Protecting wetlands.
Reprinted from America's Clean Water: The States' Evaluation of Progress 1972 - 1992, by the Association of State and Interstate Water Pollution Control Administrators. Contact: Roberta H. Savage, (202) 898-0905, E-mail: admin1@clark.net
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Last revision Monday, September 30, 1996