ABSTRACT
The Clean Water Act began in the late 1940s as a federal process of negotiating water disputes. Each environmental issue seems to return on schedule with a vigor and a force that had dimmed in our memory. The wondrous formations of subterranean pools and rivers that lie under the surface of most of the country are a vital resource. Roughly half the population of the United States depends upon groundwater as its principal source of drinking water. About one-quarter of all water withdrawn in the nation comes from under the ground. In 1975, it was estimated that one-third of all irrigation water came from underground sources. The Environmental Protection Agency has estimated that more than eight billion gallons of hazardous waste is injected into deep wells each year. The number of wells and the volume of waste are certain to increase as federal and state regulation of landfills, surface impoundments and incinerators get tougher.
