WaterNews for May 22, 1998

WaterNews is a weekly on-line publication that announces publications, policies, and activities of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's Office of Water.

The US Environmental Protection Agency today released its 1996 National Water Quality Inventory, a biennial survey of the nation's water quality. Consistent with data reported in the 1994 inventory, 40 percent of the nation's surveyed waters remain too polluted for swimming, fishing, and other recreational activities. For rivers and streams, runoff form agricultural lands remains the largest source of pollution, affecting 25 percent of all surveyed river miles. The 1996 report is the result of surveys conducted by states in 1994 and 1995 of 19 percent of the nation's river miles, 40 percent of lake acres, and 72 percent of estuarine square miles.

A 12-page summary entitled Report Brochure: National Water Quality Inventory 1996 Report to Congress, a 197-page detailed summary entitled The Quality of Our Nation's Water: 1996 and selected chapters from the 588-page Report to Congress can be found on EPA's Office of Water website at http://www.epa.gov/305b/. Copies of the Report Brochure: National Water Quality Inventory 1996 Report to Congress (EPA 841-F-97-003) are available from the National Center for Environmental Publications and Information (NCEPI) at 1-800-490-9198. The Quality of Our Nation's Water: 1996 (EPA 841-S-97-001) and the Report to Congress (EPA 841-R- 97-008) will be available soon from NCEPI. For further information, contact George Doumani at (202) 260-3666.

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