For over 50 years, the Clean Water Act has done much to protect our nation’s waterways, but loopholes in the regulations and lax enforcement have crippled its effectiveness, allowing polluters to exploit the system and contaminate our waters with impunity.

LA Waterkeeper Celebrates the 50th Anniversary of the Clean Water Act

More than three decades ago, a landmark lawsuit filed by LA Waterkeeper and Heal the Bay spurred the creation of the TMDL program, one of the biggest drivers of clean water projects in California. However, half of our waters are still considered impaired by pollution, and deregulation and lack of enforcement threaten to disempower this landmark piece of legislation. Our future depends on restoring, enforcing, and defending the Clean Water Act in the decades to come. How did we get to where we are, and how can we continue to push for better water quality for all of Los Angeles?

In a lawsuit filed by LA Waterkeeper and NRDC, LA County was required to pay $4 million for projects that reduce stormwater runoff and enhance the urban tree canopy. The funding was used by TreePeople to help people retrofit their homes with water filtration and stormwater-capture features, including drought-resistant plants and bioswales.

LA Waterkeeper’s successfully litigated using the Clean Water Act against a waste hauling and recycling facility in the Sun Valley neighborhood of Los Angeles. The funding was used in part to fund the Bradley Plaza and Green Alley, a project led by Pacoima Beautiful that transformed a run-down alley into a greenway for residents to walk, bike and recreate.

How the Los Angeles Regional Water Board’s disappointing new MS4 Permit will inevitably lead LA to another decade of stormwater pollution.

A case study along Ballona Creek.