Forty percent of the nation's assessed waterways remain too polluted for fishing and swimming, the Environmental Protection Agency said.
The agency plans to start a new program to help states address polluted runoff, said EPA Assistant Administrator for Water J. Charles Fox.
The 40 percent figure is generally consistent with findings of the last decade. Runoff from agricultural lands and urban areas remains the primary source of the leading pollutants: silt, bacteria, the nutrients phosphorus and nitrogen, and metals.
"It's paramount that we clean up the nation's remaining water pollution," Fox said. "Millions of Americans spend billions of dollars every year at their favorite waterways. Although most of our waterways are cleaner because of controls on direct discharges, the remaining polluted waters will only be cleaned up by addressing polluted runoff -- a mix of contaminants that can include chemicals, metals, fertilizers and oily wastes."
The figures from a l998 study reflect the states' assessment of a third of the nation's waterways. Among the states' findings, over 290,000 miles of 840,000 miles of assessed rivers and streams do not meet water quality standards.
States also assessed nearly half of all lakes, reservoirs and ponds, finding nearly half polluted. Of the Great Lakes, 90 percent of their shoreline miles were assessed; of those, 96 percent of the shoreline miles indicated pollution exceeding water quality standards to protect human health. Although threats remain, states found that groundwater quality generally remains good and can support many different uses.
Additional information, including a fact sheet and the full report, the "National Water Quality Inventory: 1998 Report to Congress," is available at EPA's Office of Water site , under "What's New," or by calling EPA's National Service Center for Environmental Publications at (800) 490-9198 (publication #EPA841-R-00-001).
