Clean Water Act Is 40

Local leaders and researchers in Southern California's clean and accessible water movement are gathering in downtown Los Angeles Tuesday morning.

They're noting that it was exactly 40 years ago that the ground-breaking legislative package known as the Clean Water Act was passed by Congress.

Read more about the conference here.

As the organizers note:

The impact of this legislation in Southern California cannot be understated. The legislation gave concerned citizens a powerful tool in the fight to bring back clean oceans, beaches and rivers and awakened a huge portion of Southern California to the notion that we have to be good stewards of our environment. 

Later Tuesday, federal and city officials will gather in North Atwater Park for an important "announcement" related to the Los Angeles River.

Patch will be there, so check back on the site for details.

Meantime, enjoy this meditation on the challenges the Clean Water faces nationally by the president of the group American Rivers.