TY  - JOUR
AU  - Smith,V. Kerry
AU  - Wolloh,Carlos Valcarcel
TI  - Has Surface Water Quality Improved Since the Clean Water Act?
JF  - National Bureau of Economic Research Working Paper Series
VL  - No. 18192
PY  - 2012
Y2  - June 2012
UR  - http://www.nber.org/papers/w18192
L1  - http://www.nber.org/papers/w18192.pdf
N1  - Author contact info:
V. Kerry Smith
Department of Economics
W.P. Carey School of Business
P.O. Box  879801
Arizona State University
Tempe, AZ 85287-9801
Tel: 480/727-9812
Fax: 480/965-0748
E-Mail: kerry.smith@asu.edu

Carlos Valcarcel Wolloh
Department of Economics
Center for Environmental Economics 
  and Sustainability Policy
Arizona State University
Tempe, AZ 85287-9801
E-Mail: Carlos.Valcarcel@asu.edu
AB  - On the fortieth anniversary of the Clean Water Act this paper reports the first quantitative assessment of the aggregate trends in water quality in the U.S. using a single standard over the years 1975 to 2011. The analysis suggests that fresh water lakes for the nation as a whole are about at the same quality levels as they were in 1975. In short, viewed in the aggregate, nothing has changed. An assessment of the factors influencing the aggregates also suggests that water quality appears to be affected by the business cycle. This result calls into question the simple descriptions of the change in environmental quality with economic growth that are associated with the Environmental Kuznets Curve.
ER  -