Clean Water Act Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Clean Water Act - Essay Example According to CWA, the more complex problem associated with the water problems in America, is with respect to the quality of the available water rather than the quantity. In other words, America has enough water sources to cater the needs of the public; however, the number of fresh water sources is less. Point sources such as pipe, sewer, ditch, factories, some sewage treatment plants, landfills, hazardous waste sites, and leakage from gasoline storage tanks and non-point sources such as runoff from irrigation containing salts and residue from pesticides, runoff from animal feedlots, salts from the salting of winter roads, and storm runoff from the streets of urban areas (Smith, 2009, p.133) are equally causing major threats to the availability of fresh water in America. â€Å"Since 1970, CWA regulations have reduced the discharge of untreated sewage into the nation’s waterways by 90 percent† (Smith, 2009, p.136). CWA succeeded in reducing a substantial amount of water pollution in America. However, the depth of the problem is so severe and CWA needs periodical updating to strengthen its norms. Clean Water Act is giving more emphasize to the prevention of pollution from point sources and it remains silent on the issue of the pollutions from nonpoint sources. In other words, CWA is addressing only one side of the problem and that also in an ineffective manner. Smith (2009) has pointed out that budget cuts in the EPA as well as in state environmental agencies and poor staffing have resulted in the ineffective functioning of EPA and other environmental agencies (Smith, 2009, p.134). In other words, only the most visible permit violators are getting punishment for polluting water in America whereas all the others who are responsible for wa ter pollution in an indirect manner, able to escape from punishments. The budget allocation for the functioning of EPA and other environmental agencies should be increased further in order to make