Fifty Years after the passage of the Clean Water Act, the future of America’s waterways hangs in the balance. “The Clean Water Act is a foundational environmental law,” says Katharine Lange, policy specialist at the Massachusetts Rivers Alliance. “Having clean water gives us clean forests, clean agricultural products, clean recreational opportunities.”However, the Mystic River faces new threats today from stormwater pollution, climate change, and the potential for lost protections. In 2021, the main body of the Mystic River earned a grade of B+ on its annual EPA Water Quality Report Card. Only a few stray nips and fishing bobs litter the stony shoreline, a testament to the success of the Mystic River Watershed Association’s Trash-Free Mystic initiative.