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Friday, 11/10/2000
TROUBLED WATERS
Problems that plague the rivers
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News-Sentinel photo by Steve Linsenmayer
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Marshy ground
The northernmost tributary of the St. Joseph River
begins about 80 miles from Fort Wayne in marshy ground southwest of Hillsdale,
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By KEVIN KILBANE of The News-Sentinel
Most of the problems of the St. Joseph River are
shared by the St. Marys and Maumee rivers.
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency identifies
lengthy sections of the St. Marys River and most of the Maumee River as having
impaired water quality.
Waterways can be designated as impaired when pollution
or other habitat destruction leaves the stream unable to support adequate levels
of aquatic life, when fish become too contaminated to eat regularly, or when bacteria
levels make the water unsafe for swimming and recreation.
These are the problems the EPA cites in listing
the St. Marys and Maumee rivers as impaired waterways:
St. Marys River
* Contamination of fish by mercury and PCBs, or
polychlorinated biphenyls (only in Allen County)
* Soil and fertilizer runoff from farm fields
* Runoff from livestock feed lots and holding
areas
* Urban stormwater runoff
* Septic-tank leakage
* Dams
* Channelizing of ditches and tributaries
The EPA also lists two St. Marys tributaries in
Adams County as having impaired water quality -- Blue Creek and Habegger Ditch.
EPA bases the listings on early 1990s water testing that showed low levels of
dissolved oxygen in Blue Creek and ammonia contamination in Habegger Ditch. Both
problems pose threats to aquatic life. State officials never determined the source
of either stream's problem. They are testing the streams again this fall.
Maumee River
* Contamination of fish by mercury and PCBs (only
in Allen County)
* Soil and fertilizer runoff from farm land
* Channelizing of ditches and streams
* Municipal sewage discharge
* Runoff from livestock holding areas
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