Check out the video link below from the James River Association:
Dumping Ground to Best River Town; 40 years of Progress on the James River
October marks the 40th anniversary of the Clean Water Act, the nation’s landmark environmental legislation to protect water quality. Over the past four decades the James River has gone from being a “dumping ground” to supporting Outside Magazine’s 2012 “Best River Town Ever.” Arguably, it is the most improved river in the nation.
This accomplishment has been the result of a diverse, collective effort by many concerned citizens, businesses and governments. While the Clean Water Act and other state and local plans and policies provide the framework for improving the river, it ultimately comes down to individuals who make it happen.
From Wikipedia:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Clean_Water_Action
David Zwick was a young law school student when Ralph Nader recruited him to a task force researching water pollution problems. After a two-year tour of America’s most polluted waters, Zwick authored Water Wasteland and then founded Clean Water Action to address the issues outlined in his book.[9] Zwick transformed Clean Water Action into a grassroots organization while continuing to drive the lobbying work forward in Washington, where he was influential in the clean water debates. He contributed to key sections of the Clean Water Act, including the citizen suit provision, which allows members of the public to enforce the law when the government fails to.[2]
[edit]History
During the late 1960s water pollution was spreading in many parts of the country, with a burning Cuyahoga River in northeast Ohio and biologically dead Lake Erie among the visible examples of much wider problems.[10]
1969 – David Zwick joins Ralph Nader’s water pollution task force.[2]
1971 – Water Wasteland is published. David Zwick joined forces with Ralph Nader to publish Water Wasteland in 1971. The result of a two-year study into water quality issues in the United States, Water Wasteland concluded that spreading water pollution was directly linked with the increasing political strength of industrial polluters.[2]
1972 – Clean Water Action is launched. The fledgling organization’s goal was to enact many of Water Wasteland’s platforms of recommended changes into law. To reach this goal, Zwick outlined a grassroots strategy of door-to-door canvassing and public education.[2]
1972 – Clean Water Act becomes law.[11] In October 1972, a bipartisan majority of the U.S. Congress passed the Clean Water Act over a veto by President Richard M. Nixon.
1974 – Safe Drinking Water Act is passed.