Drinking Water For 1.8 Million In Pittsburgh Area At Risk

Analysis by the Environmental Protection Agency shows that drinking water supplies for at least 1,868,000 residents in the Pittsburgh area are at risk of contamination from industrial pollution – and federal agencies like EPA may not have authority to stop it.

The goal of the landmark Clean Water Act, signed into law in 1972, was to "restore the physical, chemical, and biological integrity of the nation's waters." However, two recent Supreme Court decisions threaten to dramatically narrow the scope of the Clean Water Act by excluding non-navigable bodies of water such as small streams.

Small streams are essential sources of drinking water, supplying water for public systems across the country. The Environmental Protection Agency analyzed streams nationwide to pinpoint which ones fed public water supplies. The results: More than 117 million Americans get their drinking water from sources that may lose federal protection from pollution, including residents of

• Allegheny County (1,351,362 people)
• Beaver County (66,723 people)
• Butler County (79,185 people)
• Mercer County (63,699 people)
• Westmoreland County (244,362 people)
• Lawrence County (62,821 people)

Conservation and sportsmen's groups are urging Congress to protect people and wildlife that depend on these at-risk waters. "By acting on legislation this fall," says Geoff Mullins, Policy Initiatives Manager for the Theodore Roosevelt Conservation Partnership, "the U.S. House of Representatives can take a major step forward to ensure our water is safe for drinking, fishing, and outdoor recreation."

"Restoring Clean Water Act protections isn't just important for waterfowl and wildlife – it's important to the families that are affected by polluted waters and need guarantees that their health won't be in jeopardy because of unprotected water sources," says Jan Goldman-Carter, Wetlands and Water Resources Counsel for the National Wildlife Federation. Dr. Scott Yaich, Director of Conservation Operations for Ducks Unlimited, concurs: "Guaranteeing protection for streams and wetlands under the Clean Water Act benefits everyone – from the families that drink the water to the waterfowl and wildlife that live it"

"Headwater streams, especially the intermittent and ephemeral streams that are dry for parts of the year, are the ‘Rodney Dangerfields' of the water resource world: They don't get enough respect," says Steve Moyer, Vice President for Government Affairs for Trout Unlimited. "Yet the best science we have tells us how extremely valuable headwater streams are for drinking water, water quality, and fish and wildlife habitat. If the Clean Water Act's visionary goals are ever to be achieved, Congress must restore protection for these critical resources."

"We simply want to confirm the original intent of the Clean Water Act to protect the waterways that Americans use for drinking, swimming, and outdoor recreation," concludes Scott Kovarovics, Conservation Director for the Izaak Walton League of America. "Only Congress can amend the Clean Water Act to guarantee it protects streams that provide drinking water for more than 117 million Americans."

SOURCE: Izaak Walton League of America