The EPA’s newly proposed rule to dramatically narrow “Waters of the United States” protections under the Clean Water Act (CWA) is a direct threat to maternal and child health. By leaving critical wetlands and seasonal streams vulnerable to pollution, we risk undoing decades of progress that have safeguarded drinking water, healthy pregnancies, and flourishing early childhood development.

Wetlands act as nature’s water treatment plants. Their rooted plants and microbial communities trap sediment, absorb excess nutrients like nitrogen and phosphorus, and neutralize pollutants before they reach our downstream drinking sources. By rolling back protections, the EPA would allow far more runoff, especially during rainstorms, to bypass these natural filters. This puts water systems under greater strain, and creates unnecessary risk to public health.

Why does this matter for mothers and babies? Epidemiological and economic research makes the stakes clear: Clean water regulations save lives. After the Clean Water Act’s enforcement mechanisms were strengthened, a study found that the average newborn birth weight increased by 8 grams, a small but meaningful shift (Flynn, P. & Marcus, M. 2021). Conversely, even low-level contamination of drinking water can harm fetal growth or trigger premature births. In one careful analysis, infants exposed in utero to more contaminated (though still legally compliant) water had a 12% higher risk of low birth weight and a 17% higher risk of preterm birth, compared with their own siblings exposed to cleaner water (DiSalvo, R. & Hill, E. 2023).

Nitrates are particularly concerning. A systematic review found links between nitrate exposure in drinking water and perinatal risks, including pre-term birth and birth defects (Lin, L. et al. 2023). Not only that, but a landmark Stanford study of over 1.4 million births in California found that even nitrate levels below the EPA’s maximum legal limit were associated with a doubled risk of very early preterm birth.

Weakening clean water protections may be framed as deregulation, but for uniquely vulnerable communities like pregnant people, it amounts to reduced safeguards for the most basic necessity of life. Contaminated water can undermine nutrition, impair fetal growth, and trigger stress that reshapes long-term health trajectories.

Worse, the communities most likely to suffer are already marginal­ized. Those who rely on unfiltered groundwater or have limited access to water treatment tools are often the same communities confronting healthcare inequities. Exposing them to elevated pollution risk is an environmental justice failure and poor policy.

In short: the proposed rollback is an extreme, unnecessary risk for the environment, parents, infants, and public health. As a society, we must ask ourselves: Do we want to risk our children’s start in life by dismantling the protections that make clean water possible?

We cannot afford to gamble with the health of our next generation.