Tom Batroney

On Oct. 18, 1972, Congress enacted in a bipartisan manner the Federal Water Pollution Control Amendments of 1972, also known as the Clean Water Act (CWA). Prior to the CWA, clean-water laws at the federal and state levels were inconsistent, and progress was slow in cleaning up our nation’s water, as there were no common goals, objectives, guidelines and funding.

PWSA: After the Crisis By Essay by Tom Batroney | August 3, 2021 Tom Batroney stands along Washington Boulevard at a spot that has flooded repeatedly in recent years. (Photo by Lindsay Dill/PublicSource) After record-setting rainfall and flash floods in recent years, the need for action across the Pittsburgh region is clear. In 2018, I created the Pittsburgh Urban Flood Journal where I’ve been documenting, mapping and writing about flooding issues as they happen.