Which waters are considered navigable under the Clean Water Act?

Under the Clean Water Act, navigable waters are defined as waters that are capable of being used for interstate or foreign commerce. This definition primarily encompasses rivers, lakes, and other significant bodies of water that facilitate navigation.

A river qualifies as navigable because it serves as a route for transportation and commerce, enabling the movement of goods and services across state lines. The characteristics of a river, including its size, flow, and connection to larger navigable waters, make it a vital component of this definition.

While a large pond and a creek that drains into a river may have water, they do not meet the criteria of navigability to the same extent as a river does. A pond, even if it is large, typically does not have the capacity for commercial navigation. A creek may serve as a tributary, contributing to a river, but by itself, it does not usually function as an independent navigable waterway.

Thus, the correct identification of navigable waters is specifically focused on rivers, which play a prominent role in commerce and transport under the Clean Water Act.