As Colorado River cutbacks put a premium on water, a U.S. Supreme Court case will soon decide the fate of the Clean Water Act.
The Arizona Wildlife Federation has issued an op-ed arguing for its protection.
After curtailing the EPA’s regulatory power under the Clean Air Act in June, the court may soon curb the agency’s sway under the Clean Water Act.
At issue in the case, Sacket vs. EPA, is whether sporadically wet areas fall under EPA jurisdiction.
But EPA data shows 79% of streams that provide drinking water to Arizonans are intermittent, ephemeral or headwater streams.
That means more than 3.2 million Arizonans, to say nothing of game, fish and endangered wildlife, receive water from streams that are dry part of the time.
The op-ed calls attention to these facts, and to the ecological and economic importance of those waters.
