It starts with a group of kids swinging off a rope on a hot summer day and splashing into the cooling waters of a passing river.

Somewhere downstream a couple picnics on the bank, watching a pair of mallards swimming along. Just offshore, a trio of fishermen float along pulling smallmouth bass from the water, chatting and laughing about their successes and failures.

A few miles upstream, a canoe with a family aboard paddles along, enjoying a gentle section of rapids.

A pair of kayaks slide along the shore, exploring the nooks and crannies of the waterways that connect the river and once helped power the local textile industry.

On an island nearby, another family has set up camp and is idling by the fire, telling stories, making memories and building traditions.

On a wooded hillside in the forest nearby, mountain bike riders weave down a single-track trail, testing their skills as they dodge obstacles.

Twenty years ago nobody would have believed the river hosting all this recreational activity could be the Androscoggin.

But the efforts of countless advocates, elected officials and regular citizens is finally paying a dividend. A resource that once served mainly as a municipal and industrial sewer has become a destination for fun, relaxation and enjoyment.

“This is a spectacular place to fish, one of the best in the state,” N. Macauley Lord told the Sun Journal recently. Lord, a professional fishing guide and author, would know. He’s seen much of what Maine has to offer and praises L-A’s urban fishery as unique.

Meanwhile, participation in annual events held on the river or beside the river, including today’s Chief Worumbo River Race — a canoe and kayak outing from Durham to Lisbon Falls — continues to grow.

All that being said, the water quality on the river, which continues to improve, has a ways to go. Odor from municipal sewer overflows, especially during the rainy days of a humid summer, still occasionally mar the river’s image.

The Androscoggin still needs help.

A bill sponsored by State Sen. Seth Goodall, D-Richmond, seeking to upgrade the southern end of the river from Class C to Class B was rejected this year by the Maine Legislature.

Concern that the new classification would force industry and municipalities to face stricter discharge regulations won out over the projected economic benefits a better rating could bring from increased tourism.

Science, unfortunately, took a back seat to politics. But, with or without the state’s official blessing, people are returning to the waters of the Androscoggin River and will continue to do so.

“What makes a river so restful to people is that it doesn’t have any doubt — it is sure to get where it is going, and it doesn’t want to go anywhere else,” the late Associated Press newsman Hal Boyle once wrote.

Boyle’s words hold true for all rivers but feel especially pertinent to the Androscoggin these days.

Doubtless, the river has endured a long legacy of pollution and abuse, but now, like never before, its potential as a great recreational and economic resource is clear.

And now, like never before, we must join together to embrace efforts to protect and celebrate the revitalization of this beautiful waterway and the new vibrancy it is bringing to the communities along its banks.

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The opinions expressed in this column reflect the views of the ownership and editorial board.