Washington:Hood Canal, Puget Sound
In the fall of 2003, there was so little oxygen in southern Hood Canal that more than 50,000 perch suffocated and died, washing up on the beach at Potlatch State Park. The low oxygen levels are the result of too much nutrient pollution, subsequent algae growth and decay which uses up oxygen in the waters.
Click on this region to find out more about Hood Canal and other endangered waters.
Oregon:Columbia River Basin
Approximately five miles from the Columbia River, the dairy operation Threemile Canyon Farms, in Morrow County, Oregon, emits a staggering 5.6 million pounds of ammonia gas every year — more than double that of the state's remaining industries combined. Click on this region to find out more about the Columbia River Basin and other endangered waters.
Hawaii:Coral Reefs
Coral reefs in the Hawaiian Islands are threatened by nutrients from agriculture, golf courses, construction sites, storm drains,marine waste and septic tanks.
Click on this region to find out more about Hawaiian coral reefs and other endangered waters.
Iowa:Des Moines & Raccoon Rivers
High levels of nitrates in the Des Moines and Raccoon Rivers in Des Moines, Iowa had become such a problem that in 1992 the water department installed a $4 million nitrate-removal system.
Click on this region to find out more about the Des Moines & Raccoon Rivers and other endangered waters.
Illinois:Fox River
Out of 15,491 miles of Illinois streams that the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency assesses, more than one-third of them fail to meet water quality standards. Of these, about 55 percent fall short because of nutrient pollution.
Click on this region to find out more about the Fox River and other endangered waters.
Mississippi River Basin & Gulf of Mexico: Dead Zone
The most notorious dead zone is a region in the Gulf of Mexico, where the Mississippi River discharges high-nutrient runoff. Just a few years ago, at its largest, the Gulf's dead zone was the size of Massachusetts. This seasonal phenomenon kills every oxygen-dependent sea creature within it.
Click on this region to find out more the Dead Zone and other endangered waters.
Southwest Florida:Manatee deaths
In March of 2005, red tide was the suspected cause of a series of manatee deaths occurring in Southwest Florida near the mouth of the Caloosahatchee River. For months, the State of Florida discharged nutrient-rich water from Lake Okeechobee down the river and into the Gulf of Mexico, feeding the red tide already present in the Gulf.
Click on this region to find out more Manatee deaths and other endangered waters.
New York, Pennsylvania, Ohio, Michigan & Ontario:Lake Erie
Lake Erie's Central Basin is home to a dead zone every summer, when the bottom waters have no oxygen and it is virtually impossible for any aquatic life to survive. One of the major contributors to this dead zone is too many nutrients, especially phosphorus.
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Vermont:Lake Champlain
Every summer, Lake Champlain experiences algal blooms, clogging sections of the lake with blankets of scum. The algal blooms are sometimes toxic. A neurotoxin, which can be released by the algae, can cause liver problems if ingested.
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Eastern U.S.:Red Tide
In 2005, the Eastern seaboard from Maine to Cape Cod experienced the worst algal bloom, or "red tide," in New England since 1972. Red tide occurs when waters become discolored by an outbreak of toxic red microscopic algae.
Click on this region to find out more about Red Tide and other endangered waters.
Pennsylvania, Maryland, Delaware, Virginia & Washington, D.C.:Chesapeake Bay
The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) lists the Chesapeake Bay and many of its tributaries as "impaired bodies of water." Excessive nutrients are by far the worst cause of the Bay's pollution.
Click on this region to find out more about Chesapeake Bay and other endangered waters.
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Nutrients: Too Much of a Good Thing
Plants and animals need nutrients to survive and grow. However, too many nutrients, especially nitrogen and phosphorus, can make our water unhealthy. When a water body receives more nutrients than it needs, the organisms
within it cannot live or grow. Excess nutrients come from farm animal waste, fertilizers, human sewage, cars, coal-burning power plants and stormwater runoff from sprawling development and highways.
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Mouse over this symbol on the map to find out more about how excess nutrients are harming our waters. |
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