Arkansas Canoe Club Forums

Report card on The American Way:

EPA report: More than half nation’s rivers in poor shape

http://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/ ... story.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Glad to see this info making it out. However, one thing the report did not make crystal clear is that half of the waterways tested are listed as impaired, which is different from half of the nations waterways being impaired.

In Arkansas over 4,000 miles of streams are listed as impaired. Doesn't seem like much when you consider we have more than 87,000 miles of streams. Still yet, there is not enough money, people, or other resources for our waterways to all be tested. This is true in all 50 states.

Another point to be made is that the listed report is using 2008 data, although data exists as current as 2010 and 2012. Those more recent reports aren't yet all processed or accepted by EPA and EPA and states are still working to get them accepted. The numbers may be similar, they may be different....guess we'll have to wait and see.

Sediment is the number 1 pollutant to waterways in the nation, and here in AR. Nutrients, metals, and pathogens are also in the top 5.

Floatable trash and emerging contaminants have not quite hit the radar yet.

Lots of work to be done to improve or maintain our waterways. I'll post up some ar specific info when back in office from lunch.

Thanks for sharing the info LC !!

I suspected as much when I saw the headlines plastered all over the internet:

More than half of US rivers unable to sustain life, EPA says ...

Do the writers not know how to use truth in reporting anymore? I would have gotten an F on a high school paper for such untrue hype.

Michael

Ahh Yes - The "Aquatic Life Designated Use" explained: This beneficial use provides for the protection and propagation of fish, shellfish andother forms of aquatic life.

This one can considered absent if the water has too many metals in it (unsafe to raise fish or catch fish for eating, Not enough Dissolved oxygen (DO)in the water for many types of aquatic life (namely the most sensitive i.e darters, smallmouth bass, helgramites, mayflies, caddisflies). Not enough DO in the water makes it hard for the benthic (bottom dwelling) macroinvertebrates to live, which makes it harder for the fish to live also. Stream instability caused by watershed disturbances like more concrete than green space, streamside clearing, gravel mining, and poor engineering practice standards for river systems (i.e. highways, bridges, culverts, low water bridges, and so on) a few other water quality impairments contribute to the loss of Aquatic life as well.

Of course this listing does not mean no aquatic life can live, but it does mean that less diversity and richness of aquatic types will be found vs. areas that are not as disturbed or not disturbed.

Here is the 2008 305(b) Summary Data for Arkansas on the EPA website
http://ofmpub.epa.gov/tmdl_waters10/att ... ort_type=A" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Here is the 2008 303(d) List Report (Impaired Rivers Listing) for AR http://www.adeq.state.ar.us/water/branc ... t_2008.pdf" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Here is the 2008 Integrated Water Quality Assessment Report (305b Report) for AR
http://www.adeq.state.ar.us/water/branc ... -04-01.pdf" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Finally, here is the EPA National Summary http://ofmpub.epa.gov/waters10/attains_ ... cy.control" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

It's really easy to misinterpret the available information. Overall though, it's good to get it out I think since it stirs awareness which can sometimes lead to more education on the subject. As Mark Twain once said "there's 3 kinds of lies in this world; lies, damn lies, and stats." or something like that.

Since the EPA's goal of the 319 (non-point source pollution reduction program) was to restore rivers that are impaired, they have had to change their approach since very few impaired rivers have been "restored". Now it seems as if more incremental progress might be accepted becuase they can show lots of little improvements that lead to a river being restored......and then maybe they can get some more or some continued $$$ from the Office of Management and Budget (OMB).

That was an interesting change in tactics by the agency and is associated with our past few years of budget issues here in the US. I guess we'll see.

Some observations from a creek sacrifice zone (you know, where your fast food, Easter hams, and corn ethanol grow):

Phosphorus is one of the leading contributors to stream degradation. Interesting considering the world has, according to some resource experts, about 50 years of phosphorus remaining for agricultural production. So flush er down the rivers, beeeaches!

Sedimentation. On a local creek in central IL I found some big mammal bones eroding out of a stream bank. They were buried about 8 feet below the surface of the stream bank. My cranky logic combobbulator told me they had to be old. I was sure I had stumbled upon some Pleistocene megafauna. Wrong. Further investigation revealed it to be the remains of a draft horse, including two large horse shoes still nailed to the hooves. But more revealing to me is the incredible extent of sedimentation in these floodplains since settlement. Streams today in many parts of the country would not be recognizable to the native americans and early settlers. In many cases what we see are extremely degraded remnants that serve primarily as drainage ways for industrial agriculture and urban/suburban landscapes.

Swimmable water. There are many sections of streams that are only "swimmable" or rated suitable for human contact during those times of the year when human contact is expected to occur during warmer weather. Many sewage treatment plants are only required to chlorinate during those months. And this affects only limited portions of the streams. Other sections on the same stream may be impaired by fecal contamination from small developments that fall below treatment requirements, farm runoff, poorly functioning or no septic systems from houses, combined storm water/treatment systems during heavy rain events, etc.

Mercury. Can't help but wonder if the carbon-dioxide=plant food congressional crew in D.C. hasn't had a bit too much mercury fertilization in the brain from all the coal combustion. Lead, lead (contributed) to crime. Why not mercury making crazy? Like you need evidence.

Development. Don't get me started.