Seven watersheds were classified as having serious water quality problems. Watersheds are the topographic bowls into which streams and rivers drain. The assessments were done as part of efforts by state and federal environmental agencies to clean up waterways and protect them from pollution. The reports were released to help energize the public to work for changes that would reduce pollution. Nationwide, approximately 21 percent of the watersheds were identified as having serious water quality problems, with just 16 percent having good water quality.
Some watersheds suffer more from agricultural pollutants and others from urban sources.
Officials stressed that treatment systems remove any pollution from drinking water. Less serious water quality problems were identified in the Great Egg Harbor watershed, Lower Delaware River, and Roundout, which drains into a portion of Warren County from upstate New York. To environmentalists, who have backed the new watershed-based approach to cleaning up rivers and streams, the assessments show how much work needs to be done. The obvious solution is to work to toughen water pollution controls on a regional basis. Ella Filippone, executive director of the Passaic River Coalition, said the assessments show that so far the nation has only made minor adjustments in trying to clean up its waterways.