America celebrated an important birthday this week.

The Clean Water Act turned 43. Essentially, the law said water belonged to everyone. Public waterways couldn’t be used by businesses as liquid garbage dumps any more.

America’s waterways found incredible bipartisan support in Congress. The Act passed the Senate without a single vote against it. The House of Representatives didn’t even tally individual votes. A simple voice vote by all House members proved the legislation was unopposed.

When President Nixon vetoed the bill, The Senate and House met on the very same day, voting to override the veto.

On an October day in 1972, Thanksgiving came early. Cleaner water became the law of the land.