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The Environmental Protection Agency sampled nearly 2,000 locations in 2008 and 2009 — from rivers as large as the Mississippi River to streams small enough for wading. The study found more than 55 percent of them in poor condition, 23 percent in fair shape, and 21 percent in good biological health.
Conditions are worse in the East, the report found. More than 70 percent of streams and rivers from the Texas coast to the New Jersey coast are in poor shape. Streams and rivers are healthiest in Western mountain areas, where only 26 percent were classified as in poor condition.
The EPA also found some potential risks for human health.
In 9 percent of rivers and streams, bacteria exceeded thresholds protective of human health. And mercury, which is toxic, was found in fish tissue along 13,000 miles of streams at levels exceeding health-based standards. Mercury occurs naturally but also can enter the environment from coal-burning power plants and from burning hazardous wastes.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/epa-report-more-than-half-nations-rivers-in-poor-shape/2013/03/26/a91dd714-965f-11e2-8b4e-0b56f26f28de_story.html
Fifty-five percent of the nation’s streams and rivers are now in “poor” condition, posing health risks to fish, other wildlife and humans, EPA report finds
The percentage of river and stream miles rated as “good” has declined. High levels of phosphorous and nitrogen are cited in the unsatisfactory conditions.
Read more: http://www.nydailynews.com/news/national/55-streams-rivers-rated-poor-article-1.1299841#ixzz2OlPV8jds
