Grateful for water law

This month, along with World Water Day, we celebrate the 40th anniversary of the Clean Water Act. Enacted to restore and maintain our nation’s waters, the CWA set the precedent for our waterways to be drinkable, swimmable and fishable.

Today, the mission of the CWA is far from being fulfilled, with about one-third of the nation’s waters still unhealthy. But it’s all relative, right? In developing nations, 2.2 million people, most of them children, die every year from diseases associated with lack of access to safe drinking water, inadequate sanitation, and poor hygiene, and 1.1 billion people in the world do not have access to safe drinking water.

Bottom line: We are extremely lucky. But there is one important point that is often forgotten: there is no new water. The water we drink and enjoy today is the same water future generations will drink and enjoy. It’s not an unlimited resource. So, in an effort to protect our local water sources, carry out the goals of the CWA, and further the efforts to achieve clean water internationally, World Water Day is the perfect time to wake up, get involved, and support your local Waterkeeper in protecting our water sources.

Caitlin Fuller

Spokane