Clean Water Act Modification Urged ANN ARBOR, MI (Michigan Radio) - An Environmental Protection Agency analysis says about 140 thousand residents in Lenawee and Washtenaw counties could be affected by industrial pollution of area streams.

In July, the EPA found that more than 117 million Americans get their drinking water from public systems that are fed in whole or in part by small streams.

But because the streams are so small, they may fall outside the Clean Water Act.
That has environmentalists concerned.

Jan Goldman-Carter is with the National Wildlife Federation.

"So if these major polluters are allowed to dump without any kind of recourse under federal law, then they can end up putting some very nasty stuff into our drinking water supply," Goldman-Carter says.

Environmental and sportsmen's groups are urging the U.S. House of Representatives to expand the Clean Water Act to include small waterways.
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