photo: nbcnews
An E.P.A. study just released has painted a bleak picture on the state of our waterways. Almost half of our rivers and streams are so polluted by fertilizer runoff that they have become toxic to acquatic life.
The rivers tested by the agency were found to be riddled with high level of phosphorus and nitrogen, all attributable to ferilizer use from urban areas. Other pollutants found were mercury and bacteria that thrive on these chemicals and are harmful to fish and other indigenous fauna.
In total 1.2 million miles of waterways were in danger. There is also an upward tick of the number of polluted streams with only 21% of the country's waterways in good condition, a percentage that only 4 years prior to testing was up to 27%. The remaining waterways were 55% in bad condition and 23% in fair condition.
Of the three climatic bands that were sampled, eastern highlands, the middle plains and the western areas, the west fared best with 42% of the river and water in good condition.
Of the worse hit area, the eastern part of the United States showed that nitrogen and phosphorus were placing great stress from runoff, with 40% of the water tested high in phosphorus and 28% high in nitrogen.
Mercury was found above the safety threshold in 13,144 miles of rivers.
Of the smaller streams tested, 9% were high in enterococcus bacteria at levels that posed a risk for human health.
Source: NBC news 3.27.13
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