Lake Erie was dying.  The Potomac River was clogged with blue-green algae blooms that were a nuisance and a threat to public health.  Many of the nation's rivers were a little more than open sewers and sewage frequently washed up on shore.  Fish kills were a common sight.  Wetlands were disappearing at a rapid rate.

Today, the quality of our waters has improved dramatically as a result of a cooperative effort by federal, state, tribal, and local governments to implement the pollution control program established in 1972 by the Clean Water Act.

The Clean Water Act's primary objective is to restore and maintain the integrity of the nation's waters.   This objective translates into two fundamental national goals.

• eliminate the discharge of pollutants into the nation's waters, and
• achieve water quality levels that are fishable and swimmable.    

The Clean Water Act focuses on improving the quality of the nation's waters.  It provides a comprehensive framework of standards, technical tools, and financial assistance to address the many causes of pollution and poor water quality, including municipal and industrial wastewater discharges, polluted runoff from urban and rural areas, and habitat destruction, polluted runoff from urban and rural areas, and habitat destruction.   For example, the Clean Water Act:

• requires major industries, to meet performance standards to ensure pollution control
• charges states and tribes with setting specific water quality criteria appropriate for their waters and developing pollution control programs to meet them
• provides funding to states and communities to help them meet their clean water infrastructure needs
• protects valuable wetlands and other aquatic habitats through a permitting process that ensures development and other activities are conducted in an environmentally sound matter