Nearly 2/3 of Virginia Streams Polluted

The public should not be alarmed by a report showing nearly two-thirds of rivers and streams monitored by the state are polluted, a Virginia Department of Environmental Quality official said Tuesday.

The DEQ studied about 14,300 miles of rivers and streams – nearly 30 percent of the state’s total – from 2000 through 2004. About 9,000 miles were listed as “impaired,” meaning they fail to fully support at least one of six usage categories: aquatic life, fishing, shellfishing, swimming, public water supplies and wildlife.

The impaired waters are up from 6,931 miles, or 61 percent of the total studied for the last five-year assessment, released in 2004.

[Read](http://www.wtopnews.com/?nid=25&sid=846945) (AP via WTOP)