The Clean Water Act is a complex law. Fortunately, there are a number of resources available to help you better understand its provisions and how they have been used to protect waters.

One of the best, most user-friendly, resources, is the Clean Water Act Online Course and its accompanying manual, The Clean Water Act: An Owner’s Manual published by River Network. These resources present an excellent overview of the CWA and several of its key programs. It can quickly provide you the background information (and vocabulary) to: 

  • participate in the water pollution control permits, or “NPDES,” program to minimize pollution from industries, sewage treatment plants, mining activities, stormwater, etc.;
  • understand the water quality standards, which set limits on how much pollution a river, lake, or stream can take;
  • use the watershed restoration planning or “TMDL” program to restore polluted waters in your watershed to fishable and swimmable goals;
  • use the dredge and fill permits, or “404 permit,” program to ensure that wetlands and streams are not unavoidably destroyed; and,
  • access funds for projects to control pollution.

The manual also provides several examples of how the CWA can be and has been successfully used by people to solve specific problems. Finally, it provides a brief summary of other laws that may be useful in your quest to protect your streams.