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 is also threatened in both estuaries. As a new president, Congress and the states set new agendas and spending priorities, FRONTLINE correspondent Hedrick Smith examines the rising hazards to human health and the ecosystem, and why its so hard to keep our waters clean.
Cast
Recommendations
view all
Gasland
Breaking Boundaries: The Science of Our Planet
Gilbert
For the Love of Spock
A Plastic Ocean
Zero Days
Harmontown
Get Me Roger Stone
Snoopy Presents: It's the Small Things, Charlie Brown
Ice on Fire
Conflict
Marvel Studios Assembled: The Making of Hawkeye
Lazareth
I Am Heath Ledger
The Marine 4: Moving Target
The Most Unknown
Faces in the Crowd
Facing Ali
PAW Patrol: Jet to the Rescue
No Half Measures: Creating the Final Season of Breaking Bad