Champaign, June 28, 2000 ­ According to data compiled by the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency (Illinois EPA) and released on Wednesday by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA) as part of their bi-annual National Water Quality Inventory, 12,558 miles of streams and 324 lakes in Illinois fail to meet the fishable and swimmable goals of the Clean Water Act.

Nutrient-based pollution was responsible for 10,716 miles of the impaired streams (85%) and 301 of the impaired lakes (93%). Nutrients, such as nitrogen and phosphorus, come mainly from agricultural runoff and farm fertilizers but also from municipal sewage, animal feedlots, and runoff from golf courses and lawns. {Continue Reading »}