Nearly Two-Thirds of Virginia Streams in Study Polluted

RICHMOND, Va. (AP)- Nearly two-thirds of Virginia rivers and streams monitored by the state are polluted.

That according to the Virginia Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) in a report released Tuesday. The agency studied about 14,300 miles of rivers and streams- nearly 30 percent of the state's total- from 2000 through 2004. About 9,000 were listed as "impaired." The impaired waters are up from 6,931 miles, or 61 percent of the total studied, in 2004. Waters are listed as impaired if they fail to support at least one of six categories of uses. They are aquatic life, fishing, shellfishing, swimming, public water supplies and wildlife. The DEQ also studied 112,500 acres of lakes and reservoirs and listed 109,200 acres as impaired.