Office of Science and Technology
EPA-823-E-05-002
August 2005
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w
ealthy Waters
STANDARDS
Did you know that federal and state laws require streams, rivers, lakes and wetlands
to meet certain standards of cleanliness? These are called wafer quality standards.
To find out more, visit: wwwepa.gov/waterscience/standards
CLUEf
ACROSS
1. The U.S.
Protection Agency'j
also known as the US EPA, is the federal
government office in charge of taking care
of the environment.
5. , the action of water washing
away pieces of dirt and rock, is sped up
when plants that hold soil in place are
removed.
8. Water
is a measure of how clean a
stream's water is. It is poor for polluted
streams and good for clean streams.
9. Every living thing needs clean food,
, and air to survive.
10. The Clean Water Act is a passed in
1972 that helps keep our waterways from
being polluted.
11. Like forest fires, only you can
water pollution.
12. Looking at the number of fish and other
organisms in a stream and how healthy
they are helps scientists get an idea of
how the water is.
15. Erosion causes the build up of.
sometimes called silt, in the bottom of
streams and lakes.
16. The Clean Water Act, a law passed by
, gives US EPA the power to make
and enforce rules to protect water quality.
DOWN
is a branch of science that looks!
at the relationships between living things
and their environment.
A
is a natural stream of water
larger than a brook or creek.
A is large body of water surrounded
by land.
The pesticides and used on
your lawn and garden can cause water
pollution.
Each of the 50 has a government
agency that helps keep water clean.
plants and animals live in the
water.
is anything added to water
that harms the things that live there.
US EPA and states set limits on the
amount of pollution allowed in water.
Limiting water pollution helps keep the
plants, animals, and fish that use the
water .
14. Swimming in polluted water can make you
11.
13.
WOJID LIST
WATEfl CUALITY STANDARDS important
because they tell us how clean we want our waters to
be. Water quality stan4ar4s are set by the
government.
Water quality stan4ar4s inclu4e:
• The uses ofthe water—for example, 4o we
want to be able to swim in it or just use it to
irrigate crops I
• The limits on the Amount of pollution that can
be in the water—for example, we 4o not want
too much of a chemical.
• Controls to prevent the water from getting
4irtier.
Clean
Congress
Aquatic
Environmental
Erosion
Ecology
Water
States
Quality
Prevent
Sediment
Pollution
Healthy
Fertilizers
Sick
Law
River
Lake
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