Few people in modern America have as much direct contact with river water as paddlers do. River water enters our bodies every time we go paddling through our mouths, noses, ears, eyes, and any cuts or scrapes we may have. Few of us would scoop up a glass of water from the rivers we paddle and drink it, but in many ways that is exactly what we do every time we go paddling.
As we approach the 35th Anniversary of the Clean Water Act we want to hear your stories of how this law has impacted your paddling experience. Have you witnessed the successful restoration of rivers that were once too polluted to paddle? Have you gotten sick on polluted rivers and have you witnessed first hand the challenges that remain to cleaning up our nation’s rivers?
Please take our survey today ==>
Background
The Clean Water Act is the cornerstone of surface water quality protection in the United States. Growing public awareness and concern over the impacts of water pollution led to the Federal Water Pollution Control Act Amendments which were passed on October 18th, 1972. The law was subsequently amended in 1977 and which time it came to be known as the Clean Water Act.
The goals of the Clean Water Act have been restoring and maintaining the chemical, physical, and biological integrity of the nation’s waters so that they can support "the protection and propagation of fish, shellfish, and wildlife and recreation in and on the water."
The Clean Water Act made it unlawful for any person to discharge any pollutant from a point source into navigable waters, unless a permit was obtained under its provisions.