Waters of the United States (WOTUS) is a term used to describe all waters that were navigable in the United States that may be used for interstate commerce also including lakes, rivers, streams, coastal areas, and wetlands.  These waters were protected by the clean water act of 1972 and amended in 1977.  The purpose of the act was to keep pollutants from being discharged into the United States water system.  The clean water rule (CWR) was published in June of 2015 and went into effect on August 28, 2015.  At this point the rule is in stay in the U.S. 6th Circuit Court of Appeals until further notice.  The rule that has been put into place will cause a significant change in how we manage our courses near water and understanding the rule will be important to each superintendent.  As of February 28 President Trump signed an executive order to repeal or re-write WOTUS.  At this point,there is no replacement of the rule that was started by President Obama and it will take some time find out how we will be affected by the changes.