During the 1960s-early 1980s, the Rouge River was one of the most polluted streams in the Great Lakes Basin. Then in the mid-1980s a “tipping point” occurred that would change everything. First, an odor problem in Dearborn and Melvindale was discovered to be massive amounts of raw sewage decomposing in the Rouge River, resulting in depletion of dissolved oxygen in the river that produced hydrogen sulfide – the smell of rotten eggs. Second, a 23-year-old man fell into the river, swallowed water, and died from a waterborne disease called leptospirosis, or rat fever. The source again was raw sewage being discharged into the river. Health departments had no choice but to warn the public to avoid contact with the river.  This book is the story of the response to that mid-1980s “tipping point” – how people overcame apathy and are working together to bring their river and its watershed back to life. It is a story that will inspire and give hope to all working to restore and protect watersheds in the place they call home.