More than half of US streams polluted: EPA

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – More than half of U.S. streams are polluted, with the worst conditions found in the eastern third of the country, according to a study by the
Environmental Protection Agency.

In its first-ever study of shallow or ‘wadeable’ streams, the agency found 42 percent were in poor condition, and another 25 percent were considered fair. Only 28 percent were in good condition, EPA said. Another 5 percent were not analyzed because of sampling problems in New England.

Streams running in the East, from the Atlantic coast through the Appalachian Mountains, fared the worst, with 52 percent listed as poor. Streams in 48 states were sampled from 2000 to 2004. The EPA plans to extend the study to Alaska and Hawaii.

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