Wednesday, November 8, 2023

The Wednesday Wetness

Pennsylvania DEP, DEP Releases Draft 2024 Pennsylvania Integrated Water Quality Report

DEP submits the Integrated Water Quality Report to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the public every two years, as required by the federal Clean Water Act of 1972. Pennsylvania waters are assessed for one or more of four uses—drinking water, fish consumption, aquatic life, and recreational use—and determined to be supporting or impaired. A waterway is classified as “impaired” when it is not meeting water quality standards.

The interactive map in the “2022 to 2024 Changes” section makes it easy for Pennsylvanians to see whether their local lake or stream is supporting or impaired and whether this reflects a change in status over the past two years. With one click, users can see the details on which use (or uses) DEP assessed the waterway for. If it is impaired, they can see both the cause and the source.

For the 2024 report, DEP expanded assessment of waterways, with 7,566 stream miles and 103,777 public lake acres newly assessed or reassessed for a use. The 2024 report also shows water quality restoration, noting that since 2004, approximately 967 miles of streams and 28,727 acres of public lakes have been restored. A color-coded interactive map shows which waterways have been restored for which uses and when.

 The Wombat has Rule 5 Sunday: One Last Glimpse Of Bikini up at The Other McCain.












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