Women In Government Actions

Water pollution occurs when pollutants are discharged directly into bodies of water without treating it first. There are two types of categories of water pollution point source and non-point source. Point source pollution occurs when harmful substances are emitted directly into a body of water. Non-point source water pollution occurs when pollutants are indirectly put into the water through transport or environmental change. Women In Government is committed to addressing numerous Environmental issues.

Recent Events

At Women In Government's 17th Annual State Directors' & Ninth Biennial First-Term Legislators Conference featured a session on a Marine Well Containment System, which is being developed by Exxon Mobil, Chevron, ConocoPhillips, and Shell to improve capabilities to contain a potential future underwater incident. The primary objective is to fully contain the oil with no flow to the sea. For more information, see the presentation given by Lisa Waters, a Project Execution Manager from Houston Texas.

Additional Recources

Sample Legislation:
Connecticut Senate Bill 747 - Sewage Treatment Systems
Minnesota House Bill 2014 - Clean Water Fund

Resources:
American Water Works Association
Environmental Protection Agency
National Institute of Health

See Also

Examples of Point Source Pollution:
• Sewage treatment plants, factories, and ships.

Examples of Non-Point Source Pollution:
• Agricultural runoff, mining activities, and paved roads.

There are many different types of contaminants that can cause water pollution and can include different types of chemicals and oxygen-depleting substances. Many of these chemical substances are natural, such as calcium, sodium, iron, and manganese, among others. It is the concentration of these substances that determines whether they are a water contaminant. Many chemical substances are toxic and can cause waterborne diseases in humans and animals. 

The Clean Water Act was passed in 1972 to improve water quality. This law gave the Environmental Protection Agency authority to set water quality standards for all contaminants in surface waters. Unfortunately, almost all surface waters in the U.S. still suffer some level of pollution today.

Quick Facts
• 40% of America's rivers are too polluted for fishing, swimming, or aquatic life
• 46% of America’s lakes are too polluted for fishing, swimming, or aquatic life
• In any given year, about 25% of beaches in the US are under advisories or are closed at least one time because of water pollution.
• 1.2 trillion gallons of untreated sewage, stormwater, and industrial waste are discharged into US waters annually. The US EPA has warned that sewage levels in rivers could be back to the super-polluted levels of the 1970s by the year 2016.