Clean Water Act

The Clean Water Act of 1972 (CWA), as amended, is the law governing most of MSD’s operations, and is the basis for the Federal Consent Decree. The overall goal of the CWA is to restore our nation’s waters to a condition that is “fishable and swimmable.” This seemingly simple objective resulted in a large body of regulations, policies and guidelines, known as the National Pollution Discharge Elimination System (NPDES). This particular program establishes the basic structure for regulating pollutant discharges into the waters of the United States, including combined sewer overflows (CSOs) and sanitary sewer overflow (SSOs).