Report: Nearly A Third Of Pa.'s Waterways 'Quality Impaired'

Nearly one of every three miles of streams and rivers in Pennsylvania has impaired water quality, according to a draft report detailing the state’s latest assessment.

The number of impaired stream miles has grown by 5,568 miles since the last assessment two years ago.

Of the 85,146 miles of stream and rivers that have been tested, 25,468 miles failed to meet standards in at least one of four categories – water supplies, recreation, aquatic life or fish consumption. That’s 30 percent of all stream miles in the state.

One in every eight miles of streams and rivers are considered unsafe for recre...