The Clean Water Act

The 1972 amendments to the Federal Water Pollution Control Act became commonly known as the Clean Water Act, or CWA. The CWA establishes the basic structure for regulating discharges of pollutants into the waters of the United States and regulating quality standards for surface waters. The law set goals and policies to make all waters “fishable and swimmable,” and provides federal funding to construct publicly owned wastewater treatment facilities. Learn more here.