Advancing America's Clean Water Legacy

From the small stream your kids wade in to the marsh where you set up your duck blind, America's water resources are an invaluable part of our nation and our economy, but many of them lack basic protections. The Administration is taking steps to ensure that all of our nation's water resources are protected, including headwater and irregularly-flowing creeks, brooks, and streams that make up more than half the river miles in the continental United States and contribute to the drinking water of roughly 117 million people.

Wetlands and other water bodies filter polluted water, reduce the risk of flooding, and provide important wildlife habitat. Since 1972, the Clean Water Act has protected our nation's water resources from unregulated pollution, filling and destruction. But rollbacks over the past decade have eroded the law’s requirements.

Some want to weaken this bedrock law, which is why the Administration should continue to move forward to strengthen protection for the waters that so many communities depend upon for drinking, swimming, fishing and economic activity.