MILWAUKEE (AP) — Dozens of pollutants ranging from chemicals in everyday household products to airborne residue from car exhaust end up in Milwaukee area waterways, a new study has found.
Generally the pollutants were found at low levels in streams, rivers and in the Milwaukee harbor. But in some cases, the U.S. Geological Survey found the pollutants are at high enough levels to harm fish and other aquatic life.
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“I don’t want this spun that streams are full of toxic chemicals that people should be scared of,” said Austin Baldwin, a hydrologist with the federal agency. “But they are definitely widespread.”
The study found the Kinnickinnic River to be especially vulnerable.
Cheryl Nenn of Milwaukee Riverkeeper, which conducts its own water quality testing in the Milwaukee River basin, told the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel (http://bit.ly/11ufpFR) that she is alarmed by the findings, in part because so little is known about the effect the chemicals is having in the waterways.
“It’s frustrating because often these chemicals are being approved (by federal regulators) and being put into insecticides and pharmaceuticals without a true sense of their biological impacts,” Nenn said.
The study, released this past week, examined water samples in streams and rivers, sediments and the harbor from 2006 to 2009. The study’s approach contrasted with the way water quality is normally measured, when testers look at other measures, such as the amount of suspended solids, bacteria and oxygen.
Instead, researchers from the federal agency and the Milwaukee Metropolitan Sewerage District looked for 69 different chemicals in products used for everything from hand washing and killing bugs and weeds to the byproducts produced from driving cars and heating homes.
In all, 196 samples were taken. Of the 69 possible chemicals, 64 were found in metropolitan waterways, the study said, Most are not currently regulated by state standards for public waters.
Many of the compounds got there from streets, storm sewers and parking lots, Baldwin said.
Fewer of the chemicals were found in rural areas. The Milwaukee River near Cedarburg and the outer harbor had the lowest concentrations of chemicals.
Higher concentrations showed up in urban areas of the Milwaukee, Menomonee and Kinnickinnic rivers. The Kinnickinnic, the most urbanized river in the region, had the highest concentrations of pollutants.
On Friday, Milwaukee County Parks officials announced plans for reconstructing McKinley Marina on Lake Michigan to limit runoff pollution.
Jim Keegan, who has been serving as interim parks director, estimated the cost at $4 million for retrofitting 11 acres of parking and pedestrian areas, boat ramps and dry dock with green architecture to capture more water and pollutants. Funding has not been finalized, but Keegan said the county hopes to tap funding from the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative.
“Water hits these surfaces and it direct-runs pretty much to the lake,” Keegan said.
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Information from: Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, http://www.jsonline.com
