There are few things more fundamental to our health and well-being than clean water.

That’s why 47 years ago Friday, Congress passed one of America’s most important environmental laws: the Clean Water Act. The law was designed to protect all of our waters – from the smallest streams to the mightiest rivers – from pollution, degradation and destruction. But the current Administration is working to undermine these protections, putting over a million Floridians, our wildlife and the lands they call home at risk.

At the time the Clean Water Act was passed in 1972, our nation’s rivers and lakes were fouled by decades of pollution. The Cuyahoga River in Ohio was so polluted it caught fire 13 times. The Act helped turn the page, ushering in a new era of healthier waters for fishing, swimming and boating nationwide.

Thanks to the Clean Water Act, billions of pounds of pollution have been kept out of our rivers directly benefiting drinking water, public health, recreation and wildlife. Our families have safer places to enjoy the outdoors, whether it’s kayaking the waterways of St. Petersburg, fishing and boating around Fort Desoto, or strolling in urban riverfront spaces, like Tampa’s very own Water Works Park.

The Act required states to set clean water standards to safeguard swimming, fishing and drinking. But recent EPA proposals would make it harder for states to protect local water quality.

Instead of celebrating the 47th anniversary of the Clean Water Act, the current administration is sabotaging it. On top of taking steps to undo the Clean Water Rule, the administration is also working to finalize a new, much weaker rule that would remove protections from more than half of our nation’s wetlands and millions of miles of streams. Many of the streams that flow into drinking water sources would be vulnerable to pollution from oil spills, pipelines or runoff from meat farms without so much as a federal fine.

Finally, the administration proposed a rule in August that would allow them to disregard state and tribal objections about the impacts large projects—including pipelines and dams—would have on local waters.

So while we celebrate this landmark piece of legislation that has improved the lives of millions of Americans for the last 47 years, we must continue to fight for stronger water protections. That’s especially true given that this administration continues to put Americans’ health and well-being at risk by chipping away at the Clean Water Act.

For Floridians, our waterways aren’t partisan, they’re our lifeblood. But from red tide to sewage spills, Floridians have seen more than our fair share of water quality problems. That’s why we must call on Congress to do their part to defend our bedrock environmental laws. For the sake of our communities, our wildlife and our wild places, we simply must do more to protect American waters and all who rely on them.

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Gina Driscoll represents District 6 on the St. Petersburg City Council. Jenna Stevens is the campaigns director for Environment Florida Research & Policy Center, an organization dedicated to protecting Florida’s air, water and open spaces.