The four are ranked six - or worst -
on a scale of one to six, a ranking given to just 28 of the
more than 2,200 watersheds in the United States.The U.S.
Environmental Protection Agency ratings, however, reflect only
untreated water in rivers, lakes and streams, not the treated
water coming out of the tap.
And two of the region's biggest watersheds, those
containing the Schuylkill and lower Delaware River, scored
somewhat better, with four on the scale of six.
Both environmentalists and regulators agree that the rivers
have come a long way since the 1972 Clean Water Act. Before
that, legal dumping of raw sewage caused an oxygen-depleted
"dead zone."
But authorities say the remaining pollution is still cause
for concern, since it can be unhealthy for fish and other
wildlife as well as people who eat fish or go swimming or
boating.
And environmentalists say treated water, although
considered safe to drink by EPA standards, contains chlorine
by-products that are unhealthy at high levels.
The most recent EPA analysis was done in September 1999,
based on 17 indicators such as amount of contaminated sediment
and agricultural runoff. Pollutants vary by watershed but
common ones include pesticides, fecal coliform, lead, arsenic
and mercury.
Regional watersheds with the worst overall scores were the
Crosswicks-Neshaminy watershed in Bucks, Montgomery and
Burlington counties; the Brandywine-Christina watershed in
Delaware and Chester Counties; the Cohansey-Maurice watershed
in Gloucester and Camden Counties; and the Mullica-Toms
watershed in Camden and Burlington Counties.
The watersheds are named for significant rivers or streams.
The ratings reflect watershed conditions and their
vulnerability to further pollution, mostly a measure of the
potential for growth and sprawl.
Officials at New Jersey-American Water Co., which gets some
water from the Delaware River and the rest from aquifers, said
the river is much cleaner than they expected when they built a
pipeline in 1993.
"Basically we designed the plant for the worst-case
scenario, and have been pleasantly surprised that the water
quality we're dealing with is much better," said Kevin Dixon,
the utility's director of water quality.
Philadelphia's public water comes from one intake on the
Delaware and two on the Schuylkill. The need for improvement
should come as no surprise, city Water Department spokesman
Michael Sydek said.
"We're downstream of everyone else," he said.
Robert Wendelgass, state director of Clean Water Action,
gives the city credit for the job it does, but said the
watersheds face pollution from industry and fertilizer-heavy
farm runoff.
"They're certainly better than how they used to be,"
Wendelgass said of waterways in the area. "Do we have a ways
to go yet? Absolutely."
