Fifty percent of U.S. waterways impaired by pollution: report
Ahalf century after the passage of federal Clean Water Act, 50 percent of U.S. river and stream miles are so polluted that they are classified as "impaired," a new report has found.
Not only are 50 percent of these waterways impaired, but so too are 55 percent of lakes, ponds and reservoirs and 25 percent of bays, estuaries and harbors - meaning that none of these resources are suitable for public uses, according to the report.
These findings, published by the Washington, D.C.-based Environmental Integrity Project, marked both the 50th anniversary of the Clean Water Act and four decades since the law's deadline for making all U.S. waters "fishable and swimmable."
"The Clean Water Act should be celebrated on its 50th birthday for making America's waterways significantly cleaner," Eric Schaeffer, executive director of the Environmental Integrity Project and former director of civil enforcement at the Environmental Protection Agency, said in a statement.
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