River Pollution

The first Earth Day was held April 22, 1970 as a reaction to many environmental disasters, including a fire in the Cuyahoga River in Ohio. The federal Clean Water Act was passed in 1972. Forty years later, the percentage of water considered safe for fishing and swimming has doubled across the country. One major threat to rivers is stormwater pollution. Rain often washes litter, oil, and other pollutants from infrastructure, like roads, into the river basin. The East Coast Greenway, with its intent to be lined by green space as a linear park, can be part of the solution by both shifting car trips to bike rides and walks and by creating natural landscapes that filter pollutants and reduce erosion feeding into our corridor's streams, creeks, and rivers.