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Clean water appears to be a never-ending, easily-accessible resource. Many of us don’t give a second thought to the cleanliness of the water we are using for drinking cooking or bathing. However, a recent study by the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC) shows that seven million Americans are using contaminated water. Drinking unsafe water can cause many health problems. Arsenic in water can cause bladder, lung and skin cancer as well as heart problems, birth defects, and other serious skin problems. Lead in water causes brain damage in infants and children while trihalomethanes and haloacetic acids can cause cancer and reproductive problems. Many other contaminants have negative health effects as well.
There are many sources that emit contaminants into our streams, lakes, ponds, rivers, wetlands, aquifers and other waters. Municipal sewage, storm water run-off, agricultural pesticides, farm animal waste, industrial factories, mining waste, petroleum and industrial chemical spills are some of the most common sources of pollution. Many cities in the United States have out-dated treatment facilities built to clean the pollutants in water years ago but are not able to deal with today’s sources. Moreover, pipes of older water treatment systems are often corroded or leaking, allowing toxins into drinking water.
The problems with accessing clean water go beyond the outdated technology of our treatment facilities. Pollution is not always deposited directly into drinking water storages. Most natural water systems are interconnected by underground water ways, or through other natural hydrologic cycles. Contaminants in what may seem like an isolated wetland can very easily find their way into many other natural water systems and eventually into our drinking water. It is important for all of the waters of the United States to be protected as well as water in our neighboring countries, as contaminants can easily travel through borders.
The Clean Water Act has been protecting America’s water for 30 years. The Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) mission statement says that its mission is “to protect human health and to safeguard the natural environment--air, water, and land--upon which life depends.” However, the EPA and the Army Corps of Engineers have issued an advanced notice of proposed rulemaking that seeks to exclude some waters protected under the current Clean Water Act. The proposed rulemaking would allow the dumping, draining and dredging of small streams, wetlands and other waters that help to naturally purify our drinking water. Without notifying the public, this proposal would allow big polluters to increase their polluting power at the cost of our waters and public health. However, the Clean Water Authority Restoration Act (S. 473, HR. 962) seeks to strengthen current law. If this bill passes, all “waters of the United States” will be protected from pollution of any kind. The Clean Water Authority Restoration Act prioritizes the health of natural water systems and cleanliness of our drinking water and would ensure that the quality of water would improve.
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