The department shall have power to make a complete survey of the waters of the Commonwealth in order to ascertain the extent of pollution in each of said waters, and the remedies to be employed to purify said waters. It shall have power to adopt, prescribe, and enforce such rules and regulations, not inconsistent with this act, as may be deemed necessary for the protection of the purity of the waters of the Commonwealth, or parts thereof, and to purify those now polluted, and to assure the proper and practical operation and maintenance of treatment works approved by it. A violation of which rules and regulations, after notice, shall also constitute a nuisance under this act.