Water is the foundation for healthy communities & strong economies.

Since our founding during the campaign to pass the landmark Clean Water Act in 1972, Clean Water Action has worked to win strong health and environmental protections by bringing issue expertise, solution-oriented thinking and people power to the table.

Fix the Clean Water Act: The 1972 Clean Water Act is meant to protect all the nation’s waters. Court and agency decisions under the last Administration have left many water bodies unprotected. The loss of protection threatens many wetlands and streams, which are critical water resources. For example, the drinking water sources for over 117 million people are a stake according to U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) analysis.

Clean Water Action works to restore these protections to all water bodies, as Congress intended when it first passed the Clean Water Act. Read our press release about the Obama Administration proposal to begin fixing this problem. You can learn more about the EPA and Army Corps of Engineers Guidance Regarding Identification of Waters Protected by the Clean Water Act and TAKE ACTION.

Powerful special interests have vowed to block this policy. Let’s not let the polluters have the last say!

Our Remarks to the American Water Works Association Utility Council on Restoring Clean Water Act Protections, April 2011 explain our position on these protections.

Healthy Drinking Water: Clean Water Action is working strengthen the Safe Drinking Water Act and to protect drinking water "from the source to the tap."

21st Century Smart, Clean and Green Water: Clean Water Action is helping to develop and promote new ideas for how we use and manage our water resources. Innovation can keep water clean, protect communities from floods and drought, save money and create jobs.

Making Connections: Clean Water Action works to show how our use of toxic chemicals, our energy choices and the methods we use to extract oil, gas, and coal and other activities are connected to water quality and water quantity (pdf 62kb) and proposes solutions.