Regulatory Side

Water Pollution

Control Act of 1942

Water Pollution Control Prior to the WPCA 1942

- Before 1948 various minor laws dealt with aspects of water

  pollution. The only notable one was the Refuse Act, actually

  a section of the Rivers and Harbors Appropriations Act of

  1899. The Refuse Act was not aimed at preventing water

  pollution but rather at preventing the dumping of materials

  that might impede navigation.

Prior to WPCA 1942 and WWII

- In the five decades following the Refuse Act, waterways

  continued to be used as a convenient place to dispose of

  waste. Indeed, waste disposal was seen as a legitimate use

  of these waters. As a result, substantially more pollutants were

  being discharged into the nation’s waters at a greater rate

  than the waters could absorb. In the years just prior to World

  War II, states and municipalities took some steps to deal with

  water pollution, but the pressure of war production essentially

  put those efforts on hold.

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Post-WWII Water Pollution

- In the post-war period, attention again turned to the country’s

  polluted waters. It was reported in 1945 that over 3,500

  communities pumped 2.5 billion tons of raw sewage into

  streams, lakes, and coastal waters every day.

- The Surgeon General warned that, as a consequence, over

  half of the US. population relied on drinking water supplies of

  doubtful purity.

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Quality of Postwar US Waters

- In a report that eventually accompanied the 1948 legislation,

  the Senate Committee on Public Works declared that

  “pollution of our water resources by domestic and industrial

  wastes has become an increasingly serious problem due to

  the rapid growth of our cities and industries...Polluted waters

  menace the public health (through contamination of water

  and food supplies), destroy fish and game life, and rob us

  of other benefits of our natural resources” (House Report

  no. 1829, to accompany Senate Bill 418, 80th Congress,

  2d session, April 28, 1948)

Passage of the WPCA of 1942

- It was difficult to gain political support for a water pollution

  proposal. Legislators generally considered the control of water

  bodies a responsibility of the states and viewed federal

  regulation with suspicion. Still, some conservationists and

  public officials recognized the need for action at the federal

  level. After years of failed bills, the 80th Congress in 1948

  achieved a legislative compromise with the support of

  President Harry S. Truman.

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