Newer residents of the South River Watershed only know the South River as the tranquil, picturesque retreat that exists today, but many lifelong residents have vivid memories of the lifeless eyesore it once was. From the mid-1700s to modern times, the South River served as a dumping ground for industry waste. As was a common practice throughout the country, factories and mills used the river to dispose of waste. People thought that the flowing water would dilute the pollution or just carry it further downstream without causing harm, but by the 1970s, the South River (along with many other rivers countrywide) proved this belief was faulty. It had become a two-toned, heavily polluted, sludge-filled mess. A 1971 Virginia Tech study found that the darkly stained, stinky water around the Waynesboro industrial area contained no fish at all. Thankfully, the Federal Clean Water Act, adopted in 1972, established a system of permits and treatment standards for industrial and municipal discharges that restricted the amount of dumping and pollution into waterbodies throughout the country. As a result, several businesses, organizations, and agencies have worked together to clean up the South River. In 2006 another Virginia Tech study in that same area of the river found 23 species of fish and over 500 individual fishes, and the South River is now considered a premier fishing destination in Virginia. Watch this short, entertaining, and enlightening video to hear firsthand accounts of the South River transformation.