United States

Environmental Protection

Agency

EPA-840-B-00-001

May 2000

Office of Water (4101)

Washington, DC 20460

www.epa.gov/water

Liquid Assets 2000:

America’s Water Resources at a Turning Point
In Memory...

John H. Chafee

1922 - 1999

This report is dedicated to the

memory of John H. Chafee, who

served as state legislator, Governor

of Rhode Island, Secretary of the

Navy, and U.S. Senator. During his

long and distinguished Senatorial

career, Senator Chafee was a

champion of the Clean Water Act

and the Safe Drinking Water Act.

His energy, commitment,

courage, and statesmanship

continue to inspire all Americans.

“We need to bring alive the necessity for clean water so all Americans

act as stewards of their water resources; whether it is Narragansett Bay

or just the local puddle, every citizen must do his part. For safe, clean,

abundant water—in our homes, rivers, lakes, and streams—is one of

our planet’s greatest treasures.”

– Senator John H. Chafee, introducing the Estuary Habitat

Restoration Partnership Act
Liquid Assets 2000:

America’s Water Resources at a Turning Point

May 2000
22

Each summer millions of Americanshead to the water—a lake, an oceanfront, or their favorite river—for a few days

of relaxation and recreation. Billions of

dollars will be spent this summer on food,

lodging, and fuel, as well as special equipment, licenses, and services, so people can

enjoy themselves on and around the water.

But throughout the country, our economy

and our summertime traditions are affected

by closed beaches, fewer fish to catch, and

other casualties of dirty water.

We have made tremendous progress cleaning up America’s waters over the past 30

years. The nation’s significant investment to

upgrade sewage treatment plants and

minimize industrial discharges has removed

billions of pounds of pollutants from our

waterways and doubled the number of

waters safe for fishing and swimming.

Despite this resounding success, we still

face significant challenges. An overwhelming majority of Americans—218 million—

live within 10 miles of a polluted lake, river,

stream, or coastal area. States have identified almost 300,000 miles of rivers and

streams and more than 5 million acres of

lakes that do not meet state water quality

goals. Many of these waters are not considered safe for swimming and are unable to

support healthy fish or other aquatic life.

The Costs of Dirty Water

Our economy depends on clean water; we

all pay when it is polluted. Contamination

of drinking water sources means higher

health risks and increased treatment costs.

Closed beaches and contaminated rivers

mean lost revenue for local businesses that

serve tourists, anglers, and recreationists.

Swimmers at polluted beaches and lakes

face possible threats from viruses and

bacteria.

Each year Americans pay for dirty water:

• In 1998 about one-third of the 1,062

beaches reporting to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) had

at least one health advisory or closing.

• In 1998 2,506 fish consumption advisories or bans were issued in areas where

fish were too contaminated to eat.

• Seventeen states reported 37 recreational water outbreaks caused by

microorganisms in the latest (1995-

1996) available data from the Centers

for Disease Control.

• Currently EPA estimates that at least a

half-million cases of illness annually

can be attributed to microbial contamination in drinking water.

The U .S. Economy Depends

on Clean Water

• A third of all Americans visit coastal

areas each year, making a total of 910

million trips while spending about $44

billion.

• Water used for irrigating crops and

raising livestock helps American farmers produce and sell $197 billion worth

of food and fiber. Farmers understand

the importance of water, especially in

the drought conditions many are facing

this year. Conversely, farmers in North

Carolina were confronted with severe

Hurricane Floyd floods that overran

manure lagoons on hundreds of North

Carolina hog farms.

• The commercial fishing and shellfishing

industries need clean wetlands and

coastal waters to stay in business. Every

year, the Great Lakes, Gulf of Mexico,

and coastal areas produce more than 10

billion pounds of fish and shellfish.

• A Money magazine survey found that

clean water and clean air are two of

the most important factors Americans

consider in choosing a place to live.

• Manufacturers use about nine trillion

gallons of fresh water every year. The

soft drink manufacturing industry

alone uses more than 12 billion gallons

of water annually to produce products

valued at almost $58 billion.

Executive Summary
33

condition of the nation’s water resources

and demonstrates the link between clean

water and a strong economy by focusing on

specific businesses and activities that rely

on clean water.

There are a myriad of exciting efforts under

way to help improve water quality in communities throughout the country. America’s

water resources are at a turning point. The

choice of clean water for all Americans is

ours.

Achieving Cleaner Waters

Across America

Over the next decade, we must continue

efforts to reduce pollution from industry,

sewage treatment plants, and polluted

runoff. The goal of clean, safe water will

require state and locally led efforts to

identify and clean up the lakes, rivers, and

streams that are still polluted. Using flexible, common-sense guidelines backed by

tough state water quality standards and

driven by partnerships between government

and private sector organizations at every

level, this generation of Americans can be

the first in more than a century to enjoy

fishable, swimmable, and drinkable water in

every community.

Liquid Assets 2000: America’s Water Resources at a Turning Point provides a snapshot of the economic value of clean water,

the problems we face in the new millennium, and the actions we must take to

protect and restore the nation’s water

resources. This report explores the current

“Every child deserves to grow up with water that is pure to drink, lakes that are safe for

swimming, rivers that are teeming with fish. We have to act now to combat pollution challenges

with new protections to give all our children the gift of clean, safe water in the 21st century.”

	

	
	
44

On June 22, 1969, a stray spark ignitedoil and debris on Ohio’s Cuyahoga

River, engulfing the river in flames. The

burning of the Cuyahoga came to symbolize

for this country a century of industrialization with little or no regard for environmental consequences. It also was one of the

seminal events that gave rise to the environmental movement, the creation of EPA,

and the passage of a series of laws designed

to safeguard our environment, including

the enactment of the Clean Water Act in

1972.

In the 30 years since the Cuyahoga blaze,

citizens, industries, states, and local governments, along with the federal government,

have banded together to improve the

quality of the nation’s waters. Over a trillion

dollars, much of it authorized under the

Clean Water Act, has been spent to upgrade and expand wastewater treatment

facilities. This commitment to clean water

continues as industrial facilities and state

and local governments make investments

to improve treatment and reduce water

quality problems. EPA and the states have

written and enforced more than 70,000

permits limiting pollutants. These efforts to

...one out of every ten people is served by a

community water system reporting a

health standard violation (1999).

...many assessed waters are still too

polluted for safe fishing or swimming.

Wetland losses have been

significantly reduced, but...

Our rivers, lakes, and coastal waters are

cleaner today than 25 years ago, but...

Our drinking water supply is one of

the safest in the world, but...

control “point source” discharges from

municipalities, industry, and sewage plants

have yielded tremendous results. The

number of Americans served by adequate

sewage treatment has more than doubled.

Toxic releases from industry continue to

decline. Due to this national commitment,

the Cuyahoga and other once severely

polluted waters are now thriving centers of

healthy communities.

Despite tremendous progress, we still have

much work to do. Nearly 40 percent of the

nation’s assessed waters are not meeting the

standards states have set for them. Many of

these problems will require expanded

treatment of sewage or industrial discharges. But the majority of pollution

problems are caused by runoff from city

streets, rural areas, and other diffuse sources.

As you will see in the pages that follow,

polluted runoff poses a serious threat to the

nation’s liquid assets, including highly

valued drinking water sources, beaches,

recreational fisheries, coastal seafood

nurseries, and popular vacation areas.

...less than half of the wetlands in the

contiguous states remain, and annual

losses continue to exceed gains.

Good News, B ad News

The Current Condition of Our Nation’s Water Resources

More Than a Quarter

Century of Clean

Water Act Successes

• Doubling the number of

waterways safe for fishing and

swimming

• More than doubling the

number of Americans served

by adequate sewage treatment

• Reducing annual wetlands

losses by roughly 75 percent

• Reducing soil erosion from

cropland by more than a third
55

America’s Water Resources: A Large and Diverse Portfolio

Source: National Water Quality Inventory, 1998

Coastal Waters are Big Business

According to 1996

statistics, more than half of the

U.S. population (over 141 million) lives in the

nation’s coastal communities, which account for only 17

percent of the land area in the country. Coastal waters

support 28.3 million jobs and generate $54 billion in goods

and services each year.

“For my entire career, I have

believed very deeply that a strong

economy and a clean

environment go hand in hand.”

	

66

The B usiness of Clean Water:

How Water Quality Affects Major Economic Sectors

The impact of clean water on the recreation and tourism industry is profound. But the same is

true for many other sectors of our economy. In many ways clean water is the fuel that powers the

nation’s economic engine. Commercial fishing, agriculture, real estate, and manufacturing are just

a few of the sectors that rely on clean water to operate and ensure productivity. Every day these

and other sectors of the U.S. economy rely on clean water to grow, process, or deliver their

products and services.

Recreation and Tourism Bring Jobs and Profits

Beautiful beaches, white-water rivers, and

calm, cool lakes contribute to a flourishing

recreation and tourism industry in this

country. Water has a powerful attraction for

people, which is translating into jobs and

profits for our economy. The travel, tourism, and recreation industries supported

jobs for more than 6.8 million people and

generated annual sales in 1996 of more

than $450 billion. Water-related recreation

and tourism make for a large part of those

jobs and revenue. Almost all Americans

participate in water-based recreation and

tourism and spend about 10 percent of

their income on recreational activities.

Sales of kayaks and canoes in 1996 alone

exceeded $99 million.

When people decide to plan vacations and

travel for pleasure, there is a strong tendency to head to the water. A third of all

Americans visit coastal areas each year,

making a total of 910 million trips while

spending about $44 billion. Coastal tourism

supports businesses like hotels, resorts,

restaurants, outdoor outfitters, chartered

fishing services, cruiselines, and real estate

and travel agencies. For many Americans,

a day at the beach provides recreation,

relaxation, and a chance to renew the

spirit.

A significant portion of recreational

spending is tied to fish and wildlife, both of

which require high quality water and

habitat (e.g., wetlands, vegetated stream

banks, and silt-free streambeds) for survival. Thirty-five million American anglers, aged 16 or older, spent $38 billion in

pursuit of their sport in 1996. Fishing

expenditures increased by

Fishing Revenues Return to Lake

Winnebago

Lake Winnebago in Fond Du Lac

County, Wisconsin, is the host of

many national fishing tournaments.

When residents got tired of seeing

summer algae blooms (sometimes so

bad that they covered the entire lake,

creating a foul smell) they formed the

Lake Winnebago East Priority Watershed Project to save their precious lake

and fishing tourism revenues. The

project worked with local farmers to

install manure storage facilities and

fence cows from area streams. The

Wisconsin Department of Trade and

Consumer Protection and the Fond du

Lac County Land Conservation

Department joined to install a sediment

control basin and grassed waterway.

These efforts will keep an estimated

320 tons of sediment out of the

water each year, preventing excess

nutrients from polluting the lake.

37 percent

between 1991

and 1996. Over the

period from 1955 to

1996, angler participation

rates increased by more than

twice the rate of population growth. If

sportfishing were incorporated as a single

business, it would rank 24th on the Fortune

500 list of top sales producers, surpassing

such giants as General Motors, Exxon,

Mobil, and AT&T.

Big and small game and migratory birds that

depend on clean water also generate economic activity for the recreation and

tourism industry. In 1996 nearly 14 million

people spent about $20 billion hunting

game and migratory waterfowl. They made

223 million trips and spent $5.2 billion on

trip-related expenses and $11 billion on

equipment. Even more Americans watch

and photograph wildlife. More than 62

million people participate in this relaxing—

and sometimes exciting—pastime every

year, spending more than $29 billion.

Did You Know....

One out of every six people aged 16 or older fishes an average of

18 days a year, spending more than $1,000 in the process.

Source: 1996 National Survey of Fishing,

Hunting, and Wildlife Associated Recreation
77

Baltimore journalist H.L. Mencken once

described the Chesapeake Bay as a giant

protein factory because of its incredibly

productive fish and shellfish habitat. Every

year our nation’s protein factories—the

Great Lakes, the Gulf of Mexico, and other

coastal areas—produce more than 10

billion pounds of fish and shellfish. The

seafood industry in California alone generates sales exceeding $800 million annually,

according to the California Seafood Council. But profitable fisheries and a prosperous

economy have come at a cost to fish populations in coastal waters, a situation only

worsened by polluted waters.

Data from the National Marine Fisheries

Service show declining populations for

many species, including salmon, halibut,

perch, cod, haddock, and flounder. These

declines can be linked to a number of

Commercial Fishery Yields Depend on Clean Water

factors, including

overfishing and

habitat loss.

Environmental

degradation is a key

factor. Wetlands

provide critical habitat

during various life cycle

phases for about 70 percent of

all commercial fish species.

Although we have significantly

reduced the rate of wetland loss, wetlands

are being degraded at a rapid rate by sediments, nutrients, hydromodification (i.e.,

building of dams and channelizing streams),

invasive species, and other causes. In the

Clean Water Action Plan, the President set

a goal of reversing the historic pattern of

wetland losses in the United States and

achieving a net increase of 100,000 acres of

wetlands each year, beginning in 2005.

Water is an absolute necessity for ensuring

agricultural productivity. American farmers

produce food and fiber products worth $197

billion a year. The sale of livestock and

poultry makes up $98 billion of the total,

with the cattle industry alone accounting

for $40 billion of all meat sales. Water, in

combination with rich agricultural lands

and technological advancements, helps

make all this productivity possible.

Using Partnerships to Solve Water

Quality Problems in Farm Country

Ten years ago, Iowa’s Bigalk Creek was

not much more than a watering

trough for cattle. The historical

rainbow trout populations were

virtually wiped out due to sedimentation and high bacteria levels. To reduce

erosion in the watershed, the Iowa

Department of Agriculture and Land

Stewardship and the U.S. Natural

Resources Conservation Service

undertook an important water quality

project. They fenced off an important

section of the stream for trout

reproduction and installed nose pumps

to provide water to cattle while

keeping them away from the stream

bank. These actions have kept an

estimated 12,285 tons of soil out of

Bigalk Creek, reduced livestock manure

loadings by 50 percent, and raised

awareness regarding pesticide and

fertilizer impacts in the watershed.

Bigalk Creek is now one of only three

streams in Iowa with documented

reproduction of rainbow trout.

Source: Howard Soil and Water

Conservation District, 2000

Clean Water Feeds America

The agricultural industry uses 63 percent of

all groundwater withdrawals, mostly for

irrigation. An estimated 55 million acres

were irrigated in 1997.
88

When it comes to real estate, a

waterfront view is a prime selling

feature—as long as the water is

clean. Ocean, lake, and riverfront

properties often sell or rent for

several times the value of similar

properties located inland.

Community and business leaders also

understand the potential value of waterfront locations. Today waterfronts are often

a focal point for urban renewal in many

cities. Before passage of the 1972 Clean

Water Act, many of our rivers and waterfronts were so polluted that no one wanted

to go near them, much less invest in new

development. But times are changing.

Twenty-five years ago, the Connecticut

River was considered a polluted nuisance.

Today, this American Heritage River has

become a source of beauty, recreation and

economic revitalization. Along with the

Clean Water Act, efforts by Riverfront

Recapture, Inc. and state and local groups

have paid off. In the shadow of the downLake Residents Pay for Clean Water

West Boggs Lake in southern Illinois is

owned and maintained by the Daviess

and Martin Joint County Parks and

Recreation Department. Upon

observing poor water quality and a

slump in new home sales, the

department enacted a special-use

permit fee for water-use activities that

degrade water quality. In 1999 the

Department collected more than

$450,000 in user fees, which were

deposited into a special park fund to

improve lake water quality. Since the

program’s inception, West Boggs

Lake’s water quality and recreational

fishing have dramatically improved.

Lakeside residents have also seen an

increase in real estate values and sales.

town Hartford skyline, people are fishing,

rowing and water skiing. Outdoor sporting

events like top-level bass tournaments are

doing more than showcasing the river, they

are generating millions for the local

economy. With the emergence of riverfront

parks, land near the river is becoming

highly desirable again. Riverfront Plaza will

soon be home to a convention center,

hotel, retail and entertainment facilities,

housing, and an aquarium or discovery

center. With nearly a billion dollars worth

of development planned for sites along the

river, the Connecticut is reclaiming its role

as the region’s economic lifeline.

The size and nature of American industries

vary widely, and yet nearly all of them share

a common need—a reliable source of water

to support operations. In 1995 the U.S.

Geological Survey estimated that manufacturing companies used more than nine

trillion gallons of fresh water per year,

approximately four percent more than they

had used in 1990. In many cases water is

needed primarily for production purposes,

such as in the manufacturing of computer

chips or steel, and is treated and returned

to a surface water or groundwater source.

Proper treatment of this returned water is a

vital component of the nation’s water

program under the Clean Water Act.

Manufacturing: Water Fuels the Nation’s Industries

Real Estate Values Soar at the Water’s Edge

“Water has a psychological value.... People derive measurable

pleasure from recreational activities like boating and fishing and find

comfort in knowing that the water they drink is of the highest

quality.”



	



	



99

Clean water is important to our healthand our livelihood. Today’s biggest

threat to water quality is polluted runoff.

During rainstorms or snowmelt, billions of

pounds of dirt, manure, fertilizer, farm and

lawn chemicals, oils and grease from city

streets and parking lots, nutrient and toxic

contaminants from the atmosphere, contaminants from tire and brake pad wear,

contaminants from abandoned mines, and

other pollutants are carried into the

nation’s waters. Runoff from sprawling

developments, hydromodification, and

some farming and forestry operations that

lack conservation measures continue to

contribute significantly to degraded conditions nationwide. According to the 1998

National Water Quality Inventory, states

report that polluted runoff is the leading

cause of water quality problems nationwide

and pollution from agriculture, including

cropland erosion, animal waste (e.g., chicken,

hog, and beef farms), and fertilizers, is the

leading cause of polluted runoff.

Some of today’s other water quality threats

include combined sewer overflows, sanitary

sewer overflows, and stormwater system

discharges. These discharges contribute to

serious water quality problems, including

beach closings, shellfish bed closures, and

threats to groundwater and drinking water

supplies.

Coastal Waters at Risk

Nutrients from livestock manure, sewage, and fertilizer runoff cause algae blooms in

coastal waters. When the algae die and decompose, they use up the oxygen needed by

fish and other aquatic organisms. Low oxygen conditions annually affect a large area in

the Gulf of Mexico, which last year reached the size of New Jersey. Similar “hypoxia”

afflicts estuarine waters in many parts of the country. Impacts include reduced fish and

shellfish reproduction, economic losses, and human health effects. Controlling nutrients

requires a national, coordinated effort.

Source: Clean Coastal Waters, National Research Council

Today’s Challenges

Combined sewer overflows occur in older

cities with “combined sewer systems,”

where the sewer system collects both storm

water runoff and sanitary sewage in the

same pipe. During rainfall or snowmelt,

volume in the combined sewer system can

exceed capacity, resulting in direct discharges to streams, rivers, lakes or estuaries.

These overflows contain not only storm

water, but untreated human and industrial

waste, toxic materials and debris. They

occur during wet weather in approximately

900 cities that have combined sewer

systems.

Sanitary sewer overflows, meanwhile, are

discharges of raw sewage from separate

sanitary sewers, which are not designed to

carry storm water runoff. Sanitary sewer

overflows occur as a result of leaky, damaged, or blocked sewer pipes or when the

volume of sewage flow exceeds the capacity

of the sewer pipes or treatment plant,

backing up into basements, onto city

streets, and into our waters. Storm water

runoff from urbanized areas, industrial sites,

and construction sites is another major

source of pollution.

Although some programs are in place to

control sewer overflows and stormwater

runoff, EPA is continuing to explore ways

to control the environmental and public

health threats posed by these “wet weather”

sources of pollution. These and other

emerging threats require continued vigilance as our infrastructure ages and populations increase.

While this report focuses primarily on water

pollution, we face other problems. Air

pollution, global warming and other challenges are important issues that we need to

address and which contribute to water

pollution as well.
1010

Americans Pay

for Dirty Water

Although our lakes, rivers, estuaries,and wetlands are much cleaner than

they were in 1970, headlines like these are

all too common.

The cost of polluted water is significant.

Americans pay for dirty water every year:

• A 1993 outbreak of Cryptosporidium, a

disease-causing microbe, in

Milwaukee’s drinking water sickened

more than 400,000 people and killed

more than 50.

• The toxic microbe Pfiesteria piscicida

has killed millions of fish in North

Carolina since 1995 and tens of thousands of fish in Maryland in 1997.

Losses to the U.S. seafood and tourism

industries from Pfiesteria are estimated

at $1 billion. Maryland alone suffered

$43 million in canning and fishing

losses in a single year. North Carolina is

now spending millions of dollars for

watershed restoration in an effort to

control potential outbreaks in the

future.

• Harmful algae blooms, which flourish

in nutrient-rich waters, have devastated the scallop industry on Long

Island, killed millions of fish in Texas

coastal bays, and sickened many who

have eaten contaminated shellfish or

visited stricken seashores.

• A 1995 study by the Santa Monica Bay

Restoration Project of 15,000 bathers

at three Santa Monica Bay beaches

found that approximately 1 in every 25

beachgoers who swam near a flowing

storm drain contracted gastroentestinal

illness or cold- and flu-like symptoms.

• Mining in the western United States

has contaminated stream reaches in the

headwaters of more than 40 percent of

the watersheds in the West. EPA is

spending $30,000 per day to treat

contaminated mine drainage at the

Summitville Mine in Colorado, which

will cost an estimated $170 million to

clean up. Remediation of the halfmillion abandoned mines in 32 states

may cost up to $35 billion or more.
1111

Contamination from coal-fired power

plants, motor vehicles, or other air pollution can also cause signifcant water quality

problems. Lakes in the Midwest and the

Northeast are contaminated by mercury

from distant utilities’ combustion sources.

Streams in Appalachia run red with dissolved iron from acid mine drainage.

Salmon populations in the Northwest are

being depleted by sediment runoff and dam

impacts.

With clean water, an ounce of prevention is

worth much more than a pound of cure.

Every day we must make choices to protect

groundwater, control polluted runoff,

improve sewage treatment, and restore the

nation’s watersheds, or the costs will continue to mount.

Source: US EPA, 1999
1212

Federal Tools in Action

Clean Water Act Programs at Work

• The Water Quality Standards Program sets overall goals, criteria, and limits for

individual waterbodies and drives the development of water-quality-based

discharge permits.

• The Total Maximum Daily Load (TMDL) Program requires states, territories

and authorized tribes to identify their polluted waters and submit prioritized lists

of these waters to EPA, and to develop TMDLs for these waters to help them

achieve water quality standards.

• Effluent Guidelines Program sets national limits on the amounts of pollutants

in wastewater that can be discharged into U.S. waters and publicly-owned

treatment works from industrial and other facilities.

• The National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System Program issues

permits based on effluent guidelines for individual dischargers.

• The Stormwater Program requires cities, industrial facilities, and other sources

of pollution to institute proper management practices to minimize runoff from

urban areas.

• The State Revolving Loan Program provides low-cost financing for a range of

water quality and infrastructure projects.

• The Wetlands Protection Program establishes a permit program jointly

administered by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and EPA to regulate discharges

of dredged or fill materials into waters, including wetlands, of the United States.

• The Nonpoint source Management Program provides funding for broad

state and tribal management programs to address polluted runoff from agriculture, urban development and forestry, and helps to restore streams, estuaries,

lakes and wetlands.

• The National Estuary Program identifies, restores and protects nationally

significant estuaries of the United States using partnerships. There are 28

estuaries in the program.

“It is critical that we, as a

nation, rededicate ourselves to

attaining the Clean Water Act

goals that have inspired us for

the past 25 years. The TMDL

regulations we have proposed

draw on the core authorities of

the Clean Water Act and refine

and strengthen the existing

program for identifying and

restoring polluted waters. They

provide a map that will support

us in our effort to fulfill the

original promise of the Clean

Water Act.”


		




The Clean Water Act provides manytools to gain clean water. One tool—

the Total Maximum Daily Load (TMDL)

program—has become increasingly important over the last decade. Under the

TMDL program, states, territories, and

authorized tribes identify their polluted

waters, submit a list of these waters to EPA,

and work with citizens to set priorities for

restoring them to health. State agencies

then work with landowners, private companies, and other local stakeholders to

develop cleanup plans

for these polluted waters.

These plans set “pollution

budgets” that show how much

pollution a waterbody can receive and still

meet water quality standards. EPA is working to strengthen existing cleanup efforts by

promoting more focused, collaborative

efforts at the state, tribal, and local level to

identify and clean up polluted waterbodies.
1313

Watershed Cleanup Plan Brings

Community Together

Landowners in the Muddy Creek basin in

Virginia were concerned when they

learned the state Department of Environmental Quality had announced that a

TMDL cleanup plan would be developed

to address high fecal coliform bacteria

levels in the creek. The Rockingham

County Farm Bureau Association formed a

citizen’s advisory committee consisting of 12 basin landowners and four environmental advisors. The committee encouraged all basin landowners to participate in

meetings sponsored by the Department of Environmental Quality. “Because the

landowners have had a vital part of every decision, the community is 100 percent

behind the effort,” noted Carl Luebben, chair of the Farm Bureau’s Environmental

Committee. To assist the farmers with their pollutant reduction efforts, the local Farm

Bureau recently secured an EPA grant to help implement better practices to manage

manure and pesticides.

The Safe Drinking Water Act—Protecting Public Health

Tough Federal Standards—EPA has set national enforceable health standards

for 90 contaminants. New standards are set for contaminants of greatest risk,

providing cost-effective, strong public health protection.

Source Water Protection Programs—States are examining all sources of

drinking water sources to identify contaminant threats and determine susceptibility

to contamination, allowing water suppliers, local governments, and citizens to

design source water protection measures.

Public Health Information—Water systems around the country must provide —

250 million Americans with annual reports about where their water comes from,

what is in it, and how to protect it. Consumers are also notified when there is a

situation posing an immediate threat to public health.

The Drinking Water State Revolving Fund—This federal-state partnership

provides low-cost financing to water systems to upgrade their facilities and for

source water protection activities to ensure compliance with drinking water

standards.

Dairy farms dot the landscape alongside

Muddy Creek in Rockingham County, Virginia.

The Clean Water Action Plan

In 1998, President Clinton and Vice President Gore released the Clean Water Action

Plan (www.cleanwater.gov), a comprehensive strategy designed to help protect and

restore the nation’s water resources using a

watershed framework. The plan’s 111 key

actions focus on achieving cleaner water by

strengthening public health protection,

targeting high-priority areas, and providing

communities with new resources to control

polluted runoff and enhance natural resource stewardship. More than one-third of

the 111 actions, including new curbs on

urban runoff, unified watershed assessments, and a beach action plan, are

complete.

Under the Action Plan, many states, tribes,

and local organizations are working on

watershed restoration action strategies

based on new assessments or existing

watershed, ecosystem, conservation, or

other integrated plans. Work has begun in

many watersheds identified as top priorities.

Already, more than 300 watershed restoration action strategies are guiding the design

and implementation of projects that stem

various sources of pollution. Although it

will take several years to complete action

strategies for all high-priority watersheds,

states, territories, and tribes are currently

using their watershed restoration action

strategies to coordinate their programs and

plan for future restoration activities. Together, federal, state, and local governments, tribes, the private sector, and

communities are working toward healthy

watersheds for our future.
1414

Watershed Partnerships Help Restore Shellfish Beds

Efforts of the multi-partner Puget Sound Water Quality Action Team, one of the 28

National Estuary Programs, have restored more than 10,000 acres of commercial shellfish

beds despite significant population growth and development. The public-private efforts

made by another National Estuary Program, the Sarasota Bay Project, have resulted in a

20 percent increase in seagrass habitat in Sarasota Bay since 1988, as well as the return

of the bay scallop to the northern Bay.

Federal, state, and local agencies areuniting with locally led partnerships and

using technical tools like the TMDL

cleanup program to address the nation’s

remaining challenges. Watershed restoration programs nationwide have demonstrated that partnerships promoting

voluntary stewardship can protect

America’s water resources and restore even

badly degraded conditions by using innovation, creative problem solving and cooperative action.

Watershed partnerships are active in every

state, attacking pollution problems with

newly energized initiatives to clean up

America’s waters and restore wildlife habitat. Voluntary stewardship programs help

channel resources and time toward constructive restoration projects.

The Lititz Run Watershed Alliance,

composed of 15 to 20 community

residents, has initiated more than 15

individual projects to restore habitat,

create wetlands, plant forest buffers,

and reduce polluted runoff from

farms and urban areas. Faculty and

students from the local high school

were thrilled at one tangible result of

their actions—the sighting of a black

crowned night heron at a wetland

constructed at the regional water

quality facility.

Watershed Partnerships:

Frameworks for Success

The Lititz Run Watershed Alliance in Pennsylvania

removed an old dam to restore wildlife habitat and

reduce thermal pollution in the stream.

Lititz Run Watershed Restoration
1515

What You Can Do

Everyone plays an important role in ensuring clean community waters. By forming

watershed partnerships, participating in

local government decisions, conserving

water, or changing our current practices

around the house, we can all make a difference. Citizens in all 50 states are volunteering to assess, monitor, and clean up our

waters at record-setting rates. The number

of volunteers participating in monitoring

and cleanup activities in the United States

is now close to half a million.

EPA has resources available to show you

how to get started and stay involved. EPA’s

Adopt Your Watershed (http://www.epa.gov/

adopt) database includes several thousand

watershed partnerships and volunteer

monitoring organizations that are working

nationwide to protect and restore local

watersheds. As part of the Adopt Your

Watershed campaign, more than 1,500 Girl

Since 1994 more than 2,700 volunteers in the United

States and Canada have participated in the Great

American Secchi Dip-In (http://dipin.kent.edu). This

volunteer water monitoring effort, which measures

water clarity using Secchi disks, was conceived by

Dr. Bob Carlson of Kent State University with support

from EPA. Reduced clarity can be caused by sedimentation (soil runoff) or by excessive algae growth due to

overenrichment from sewage, manure, fertilizers, or

atmospheric deposition.

Scouts nationwide have earned a new

Water Drop patch for completing watershed

projects in their local communities (http://

www.epa.gov/adopt/patch).

The Road Ahead

This report discusses the enormous value of America’s water

resources and presents a sobering summary of the threats they

face. Ensuring clean, safe water is not an easy task, nor is it a

job that any single government agency can do alone. Cleaning

up our waters will require a national mobilization of communities, business interests, farmers, ranchers, mine operators,

landowners and citizens alike.

As the summer season approaches and we head to our favorite

beach, lake, or river, we are reminded of the importance of

clean water. By taking actions now to protect our precious

water resources, we can help to ensure that our children and

our grandchildren can share the same summertime joys we will

so fondly cherish.
1616

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B ibliography

Photographic Acknowledgements

The EPA would like to recognize and thank the following sources for contributing photographs to this report.

Pam Packer, University of Wisconsin

Cooperative Extension

Wisconsin Department of Natural

Resources

Steve Delaney, EPA Photographer

Washington, D.C.

Joanne Burkeholder, North Carolina State

University Aquatic Botany Laboratory
My Precious Water, I Kiss You

Parkpoom Poompana, age 15 • Fort Myers, Florida • 1996 River of Words Grand Prize Winner

© River of Words

This report should be cited as:

U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. 2000. Liquid Assets 2000: America’s Water Resources at a Turning Point.

EPA-840-B-00-001. Office of Water (4101), United States Environmental Protection Agency, Washington, DC

To obtain a copy of this document free of charge, contact:

National Service Center for Environmental Publications (NSCEP)

Phone: (513) 489-8190 or (800) 490-9198

Fax: (513) 489-8695

This document is available on the Internet for browsing or download at:

http://www.epa.gov/ow

More information about upcoming actions to address polluted waters can be

found on the TMDL Web site at http://www.epa.gov/owow/tmdl/. In addition, the maps in the Atlas of America’s Polluted Waters (EPA, 2000), graphically depict waters that do not meet state water quality standards and show

the extent of water pollution nationwide.
Where to go for more information

Using the Watershed Information Network at http://www.cleanwater.gov/win, you can

check out local water conditions, find out about watershed training opportunities, identify

voluntary monitoring and watershed programs to get involved in, connect to federal and

state agencies, or follow the progress of the Clean Water Action Plan or other initiatives.