The group urges the state to enact a water pollution permit fee and establish stricter regulations on sewage treatment plant emissions. More comprehensive urban planning to prevent serious sprawl would also prohibit pollutants from overloading the river. This year's American Rivers report is the group's 14th annual effort in identifying waterways nationwide that face too much pollution or other factors that threaten their existence. This year's focus is the effects of urban sprawl on the life of waterways. The other rivers and the reasons for their place among the top 10 are as follows.
Federal dams threaten the wild salmon with extinction.
Home to one of the richest and most endangered collections of freshwater aquatic species in the world, the basin is threatened by Atlanta sprawl. A thirsty, growing population and industries are drawing water from the basin, and there is no way to replenish it. New dams are planned, which would alter stream flows and disrupt the balance in the basin. The community of Sierra Vista, Arizona, which owes its existence to the U.S. Army base Fort Huachuca, is pumping water so fast that a steady decrease in the river's flow during dry season is noticeable now. The Yellowstone in Montana and North Dakota gained a lot of publicity during the resurgence of interest in Lewis and Clark, but is now threatened with civilization's attempts to tame it.