Slow progress toward cleaning
up state waters
08/15/2002
Journal Gazette
Indiana has made significant strides in cleaning up
its rivers, lakes and streams in the 30 years since
the passage of the federal Clean Water Act, but the
state still has a long way to go before the job is done.
Pollution still inhibits
anglers, swimmers and others from using many of the
state's waterways. Combined sewer overflows from municipalities,
and poisonous discharges from coal-fired power plants
and municipal trash incinerators are among the chief
offenders. Runoff from farms and suburban housing developments
also undermines water quality. Even after some pollutants
are no longer discharged, they can remain in the water
for many years to come.
The continuing pollution
shouldn't obscure the welcome progress that can be seen
in improved fishing in many places. Comments from fishermen
and state environmental officials in an Associated Press
story this week describe satisfaction at the slow but
steady improvements being made. The first breakthrough
came in 1971, a year before the Clean Water Act, when
the state banned detergents containing phosphorus. The
phosphorus ban eliminated a nutrient that contributed
to algae blooms that kill fish by depriving them of
oxygen.
Granted, the list of water
bodies the state has reported as pollution-impaired
has grown to more than twice the 208 submitted to the
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency in 1998. But much
of the increase can be attributed to more vigilant reporting
and testing of water conditions.
Cleaner water, state-sponsored
fish stocking and expansion of other wildlife management
activities have increased the number of fish in many
streams and made them safer to eat.
Maintaining even the current
slow rate of progress won't be easy. The state is having
trouble just getting many communities to comply with
paperwork used to record the amount of raw sewage discharged
into streams by overflowing sewers. A much bigger challenge
lies ahead in prodding them to pay the high costs of
overhauling their sewer systems.
The absence of significant
state restrictions on runoff from urban and farm areas
is another glaring deficiency in current cleanup efforts.
Persuading people to curb activities that affect their
jobs and lifestyles is a difficult task for even the
most talented and courageous politician.
No one can put a price
tag on the beauty of a pristine trout stream, but the
quality of life in Indiana would be enhanced immeasurably
if there were more of them. Now is no time to let up
on the efforts that have already achieved notable gains
in making the state's waterways more enjoyable places.
