Making endangered river safe for drinking

Save the Water™ does not represent or endorse the postings herein or reliability of any advice, opinion, statement, or other information furnished by the author.

Drinking water news: water contamination –

Washington – Making endangered river safe for drinking. Potomac tops list of endangered rivers in U.S.

‘Drinking water in the past several years continues to get higher and higher in quality,’ says Patty Gamby, deputy general manager with the Washington Aqueduct. (WTOP/Neal Augenstein)

WASHINGTON – With the drinking water source for five million people topping an advocacy group’s list of endangered rivers, the question is inevitable. Is it safe to drink water that comes from the Potomac River?

“Drinking water in the past several years continues to get higher and higher in quality,” says Patty Gamby, deputy general manager with the Washington Aqueduct, which produces drinking water for D.C., Arlington County and the City of Falls Church.

(read more)

Water News II

National News

Potomac tops list of endangered rivers in U.S., group says

Posted: May 15, 2012 10:24 AM by Steve Almasy (CNN)

CNN- The river that provides much of the drinking water to our nation’s capital, the Potomac, tops the annual list of most endangered American waterways, according to a national conservation group.

American Rivers said Tuesday that thanks to the Clean Water Act of 1972, the Potomac is in much better shape than it was 40 years ago, but the river still is threatened by pollution.

“When members of Congress fill a glass of water or drink their morning coffee, that water comes from the Potomac River,” said Bob Irvin, president of American Rivers, in a news release. “It’s time to draw the clear connections between healthy rivers, drinking water, and public health in Washington, D.C., and in communities nationwide.”

The other nine rivers on the list are: the Green River (Wyoming, Utah and Colorado), the Chattahoochee River (Georgia), the Missouri River (nine states in the central United States), the Hoback River (Wyoming), the Grand River (Ohio), the South Fork Skykomish River (Washington), the Crystal River (Colorado), the Coal River (West Virginia) and the Kansas River (Kansas).

Threats to these waterways include new dams or reservoirs, natural gas development, coal mining and dredging, the group says in the 27th annual report. The report focuses on rivers that will be affected by some sort of major policy or business decision in the next year.

(read more)