At some of its most visible sites - like in downtown Attleboro - the Ten Mile River appears to be a dirty stream, often browned or greened with vegetative growth, its bed and banks littered with bikes, tires and strewn trash.

And even though it is part of the smallest watershed in the state, it reaches throughout the Attleboro area and has played a big role with the potential to become more central to the health and betterment of the city, let alone a number of neighboring communities. And over the years, people have tried to draw attention to its predicament and redevelopment as a natural resource by which other improvements, like bicycle routes and parks, could flow.

After years as a municipal and industrial sewer, there was renewed interest in cleaning and beautifying the river. In the late 1980s, the Ten Mile River Watershed Alliance formed, comprised of local conservationists and others whose mission, in large part, was to educate people about the river, the restoration and preservation of its resources.

Canoe rides along the river, with its wilderness areas maintaining a more pristine appearance drawing the likes of blue herons and other fowl, providing habitats for turtles and fish, were yearly trips.

There were cleanups held throughout communities, from its headwaters in Plainville, south to East Providence in Rhode Island, and beyond.

In 1995, major pollutants then plaguing the Ten Mile were phosphates and nitrates produced by septic systems and fertilizer, said then-head of the alliance, Clyde Sprague. The nutrients feed algae blooms. Other pollutants included motor oil, paint and cleaning fluids that people dumped down storm drains or straight into the ground.

Its recognition as a possible attraction, rather than a detraction, surfaced considerably more in the creation of the Balfour Riverwalk which was opened on the banks of the Ten Mile in 1998.