Great Lakes Clean Water Act

Great Lakes whitefish are in decline, in part because dams block their passage to rivers where they once spawned. Tribal scientists are looking to save a fish of economic and cultural importance.

Thanks to the Clean Water Act, the Rouge is no longer a dumping ground for industrial waste. But its gains are fragile and incomplete, with contaminants still soiling the river bottom and the fish that returned to its waters.

Outdated federal water laws and chemicals that were approved for industry without assessing for risk leave Ann Arbor and other communities struggling to ward off water contaminants before they foul drinking supplies.

Rivers and lakes are becoming saltier while law and practice limit effective responses.