More than two decades after the Clean Water Act was supposed to make America’s waters clean enough for swimming and fishing again, two iconic waterways — the great coastal estuaries of Puget Sound and the Chesapeake Bay — are in perilous condition.
More than two decades after the Clean Water Act was supposed to
make America's waters clean enough for swimming and fishing again,
two iconic waterways - the great coastal estuaries of Puget Sound
and the Chesapeake Bay - are in perilous condition. With polluted
runoff still flowing in from industry, agriculture and massive
suburban development, scientists fear contamination to the food
chain and drinking water for millions of people. A growing list of
endangered species also is threatened in both estuaries. As a new
president, Congress and states set new agendas and spending
priorities, FRONTLINE correspondent Hedrick Smith examines the
rising hazards to human health and the eco-system and why it's so
hard to keep our waters clean.