RUMFORD FALLS TIMES • July 13, 2022
The 50th anniversary of the passage of the federal Clean Water Act will be celebrated July 31 with kayaking and canoeing on Lake Anasagunticook, also known as Canton Lake. The Canton Historical Society, the Lake Anasagunticook Association, the Androscoggin River Watershed Council, and Patriot Renewables are hosting the celebration. Jeff Stern, environmental planner for the Androscoggin River Watershed Council, wrote that U.S. Sen. Edmund Muskie of Rumford was “inspired by the Androscoggin River, which in those days was one of the most polluted rivers in the country.…Muskie shepherded the Clean Water Act through to its passage in 1972. The CWA marked a turning point in Androscoggin’s fortunes; it has improved to the point that today it is becoming a major recreational drawing card.”