The present invention is directed to an improvement in the wet tensile of a nonwoven web, whether the web is for a pre-moistened nonwoven wet wipe that is both safe to use and also flushes, disperses and finally biodegrades in appropriate environments or for a nonwoven web which requires high tensile strength when in contact with liquids. An improvement in the wet tensile of the nonwoven webs is achieved by incorporating a finite amount of poly(acrylic acid) into a polymeric binder system that is applied to the web.