Simply put, an existing use of a waterbody, whether fishing or swimming or trout spawning, is a use that existed before the Clean Water Act was enacted by Congress. The idea was the Clean Water Act would attempt to keep the clean waters “clean,” while agencies worked to restore the dirty waters to their previously “clean” status. Keeping the clean waters “clean” is known as “antidegradation.”

MEA is working to keep the most pristine waters in northern Wisconsin clean through its Hundred Healthiest Rivers Campaign. This is an administrative rulemaking petition filed with the DNR to protect up to 433 pristine river segments in northern Wisconsin.

To read more about Midwest Environmental Advocates' Clean Water Campaign, click here.