Proposed Revision of Clean Water Act Seen As A Threat to Drinking Water

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As much as 90% of existing wetlands may lose federal protection (photo by Kersten Harries)

November 25, 2025

By Elizabeth Tucker–

A new rule proposed to Congress by the EPA and the Army Corps of Engineers would drastically curtail the area previously subject to protection as wetlands. The Clean Water Act of 1972 makes it illegal to fill in wetlands or discharge pollutants without a permit. President Obama substantially enlarged the definition of wetlands to include areas that are once again up for debate.

According to the new rule, only streams that have a continuous surface during the “wet season” would be eligible for protection. A stream that periodically dries up might sound inconsequential. However, all stream systems are fed at their upper reaches by so-called “intermittent” or “ephemeral” streams, which fill with water only during heavy rain. In the course of drying out, an intermittent stream may form several sections of pond. According to the new rule, any section of a stream that becomes discontinuous during parts of the year considered the “wet season” would no longer be granted protection. A staggering 90% of currently protected wetlands would lose their protection under the new rule.

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Intermittent streams make up roughly half of all surface water; in Westchester County, it is 45-55%. According to the EPA’s own website, “Over 11 million people in New York receive drinking water from public drinking water systems that rely at least in part on intermittent, ephemeral, or headwater streams.” In addition, wetlands play a critical role in purifying drinking water by allowing toxins to filter slowly into the ground. According to Drew Gamils, an attorney for Riverkeeper, the nationwide economic impact of the increased stress on drinking water processing systems as a result of the reduced protections “has not been assessed.”

In New York, wetlands are also protected under state law. However, as Gamils explains, the Clean Water Act has a citizen suit provision, under which Riverkeeper has famously succeeded at prosecuting infractions. The organization established itself in the early years of the Clean Water Act by waging successful suits against corporate polluters of the Hudson such as Exxon and General Electric. They also waged a successful lobbying campaign in the 1990s to protect the watershed areas around the Croton Reservoir and reservoirs in the Catskills that provide drinking water to New York City. Because the state law has no citizen suit provision, the new rule would hamper Riverkeeper’s ability to prosecute violators in wetland areas.

Readers can locate federally protected wetlands using the Environmental Resource Mapper at the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation website (https://gisservices.dec.ny.gov/gis/erm/). Select the “National Wetlands Inventory” filter. Federally recognized areas will appear in dark green. Areas not contiguous with permanent waterways are likely to lose protection.

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