By the early 1900s, the nation’s waterways had become filthy disregarded resources. With a rapidly expanding population, the country was changing from an agricultural society to one focused on industry. The waterways played a vital role in that evolution, with mills popping up along riverbanks, and the creation of dams and canals to help fuel the booming industrial era. With little legislation or standards and minimal public concern, sewage, trash, agricultural runoff and industrial contaminants were disposed of in creeks and streams.