Our country has a history of believing that wetlands were wastelands that spawned disease. Through human development and misguided public policy we have destroyed more than half of the roughly 215 million acres of wetlands originally found in the lower 48 states. Only in 1978 did our government stop paying us to destroy wetlands. Nationwide, the federal government estimates that roughly 120,000 acres of wetlands per year continue to be destroyed. Polluted runoff harms out waters and wetlands protect against polluted runoff.
Polluted runoff is the number one cause of water pollution in the nation.
Runoff pollution comes from agriculture fields, city streets, storm sewers, suburban lawns, and highways. Runoff pollution in our water includes increased sediment, pesticides, nitrogen and phosphorus that eat up the oxygen in the water, heavy metals, and bacteria. Wetlands have the natural ability to filter these pollutants from rivers, lakes, and coastal waters. Loopholes and lack of enforcement result in the loss of wetlands. Section 404 of the Clean Water Act is intended to prevent the unnecessary destruction of wetlands.