The Congress enacts the first Federal Water Pollution Control Act. The WV Board of Health is created with responsibilities for sewage disposal. Twenty Soil Conservation Districts have been established to cover 98 percent of the Potomac watershed. 1951 Low dissolved oxygen levels kill thousands of fish during the summer. The Federal Water Pollution Control Act is extended.
Federal legislation is passed that extends and strengthens the Water Pollution Control Act.
The Rock Creek Watershed Association is organized. The U.S. Public Health Service declares the Potomac River unsafe for swimming. The first Potomac Enforcement Conference is called. The first National Water Quality Sampling Station is put into operation on the Potomac at Great Falls. MD and VA sign the Potomac River Compact of 1958, and establish the Potomac River Fisheries Commission.