Contaminated water was a major cause of disease in the U.S. until the end of the nineteenth century and still today there are frequent outbreaks of waterborne disease. Classic public health concern focused on diseases cause by pathogens such as cholera bacteria, but in recent decades drinking water supplies have been contaminated by minerals such as asbestos or chemicals such as PCBs. The Clean Water Act of 1972 and 1977 set limits on point source pollution and provided funding for wastewater treatment facilities.

Please discuss the following in initial post:

• Why were state and local laws concerning air and water pollution ineffective, leading the federal government to pass legislation in the 1970s?
• How does the EPA enforce their regulation and laws?
• The EPA website, www.epa.gov (Links to an external site.)Links to an external site., posts information regularly on contaminants identified in the water supply. Have there been any reports posted about the safety of your water in your community?