But that is only half of the battle, as they see it. Saving the river will require a major shift in the way people live and build in the watershed as development intensifies. You cannot put any more effluent in the Assabet. For any growth in the next 20 years, they are going to have to look at different ways of treating waste water. Ultimately, she said, the fate of the river will lie in decisions by residents and the business community.
Government responds to consumer demand.
Meanwhile there have been hopeful developments. The state has stocked trout in the river for the first time in decades. And a traditional lack of cooperation among municipalities was overcome last year when representatives of the 15 communities in the watershed formed the Assabet River Consortium, Ms. Beede said.