Water Quality Tips

Raise a Glass to Quality Drinking Water

The five Great Lakes provide us with some of the finest drinking water found anywhere. Drinking water quality was measured in the Great Lakes region, scoring the water on 10 different health-related measurements. The Great Lakes were found to have “some of the finest drinking water sources found anywhere in the world,” according to State [...]

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Road Salt Use in the U.S.

Earth Gauge Video is available for this tip.
Have you noticed salt left on our roads and sidewalks after a storm? A recent study shows that road salt is a major source of chloride in our waters. In some urban streams, chloride is found at levels that can harm fish and other wildlife.
In the mid-1950’s, highway [...]

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Winter Storms and Beaches

Winter storm season results in changes along Puget Sound beaches. While every beach is different, in the winter many beaches are covered in gravel or larger sized rocks called “cobbles.”  It usually takes the force of a winter storm to move rocks around and most importantly, to wash lighter–weight sand offshore, leaving a smaller, rockier beach.  These [...]

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Protecting Our Nation’s Lakes (Southern Plains)

The U.S. EPA recently released the National Lakes Assessment (NLA) – the first ever baseline study of the condition of U.S. lakes, ponds and reservoirs. EPA surveyed more than 1,000 water bodies for water quality indicators like dissolved oxygen, algae, toxins and pathogens, and shoreline conditions. In the Southern Plains region of the U.S., EPA [...]

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Protecting Our Nation’s Lakes (Xeric Region)

The U.S. EPA recently released the National Lakes Assessment (NLA) – the first ever baseline study of the condition of U.S. lakes, ponds and reservoirs. EPA surveyed more than 1,000 water bodies for water quality indicators like dissolved oxygen, algae, toxins and pathogens, and shoreline conditions. In the Xeric region of the U.S. – running along the California [...]

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Protecting Our Nation’s Lakes (Coastal Plains)

The U.S. EPA recently released the National Lakes Assessment (NLA) – the first ever baseline study of the condition of U.S. lakes, ponds and reservoirs. EPA surveyed more than 1,000 water bodies for water quality indicators like dissolved oxygen, algae, toxins and pathogens, and shoreline conditions. In the Coastal Plains region of the U.S. – [...]

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Snow Showers

If you have cabin fever this winter and can’t be enjoying time outside, know that the snow is beneficial to the bodies of water and other natural areas that you enjoy during the summer. Snow replenishes water in rivers and streams and provides insulation for fish and wildlife that slow down during the winter. At [...]

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Rain Gardens

Rain gardens can cut down on the amount of pollution reaching creeks and streams by up to 30 percent. A rain garden is a planted depression that allows rainwater runoff from artificial urban areas like roofs, driveways, walkways and lawn areas to be absorbed. This reduces runoff by allowing storm water to soak into the [...]

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De-Icing the Water

Each year, communities across the U.S. pour hundreds of tons of salt and other de-icing materials on roads and highways. Rock salt, or sodium chloride, is the most commonly used de-icing agent. The salt works by dissolving the precipitation on roadways and lowering the freezing point, thereby melting ice and snow. Although this is beneficial [...]

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Travel Season

AAA projects that 87.7 million Americans will be traveling more than 50 miles during the year-end holiday period.  About 88 percent of those travelers will be hitting the road and AAA expects to come to the aid of nearly 1.3 million stranded motorists this season. That help will come in the form of half-a-million tows; [...]

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Reducing Runoff

The southeastern United States is one of the most highly populated areas in the nation. As more people move to the area, there is increased pressure on our freshwater resources. Pollution from rain water runoff is perhaps the most significant threat to freshwater.  Eroded soils clog fish gills, smother eggs, destroy aquatic habitat and generally make a river [...]

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Your Watershed Address (Puerto Rico)

Watersheds are areas of land in which all water drains into a common body of water. Because water does not obey political boundaries, watershed maps can cross county, state and even national lines. The size of a watershed can vary, but all bodies of water have one. You can think of watersheds like pieces of [...]

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Your Watershed Address (Hawaii)

Watersheds are areas of land in which all water drains into a common body of water. Because water does not obey political boundaries, watershed maps can cross county, state and even national lines. The size of a watershed can vary, but all bodies of water have one. You can think of watersheds like pieces of [...]

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Your Watershed Address (Alaska)

Watersheds are areas of land in which all water drains into a common body of water. Because water does not obey political boundaries, watershed maps can cross county, state and even national lines. The size of a watershed can vary, but all bodies of water have one. You can think of watersheds like pieces of [...]

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Your Watershed Address (Texas Gulf)

Watersheds are areas of land in which all water drains into a common body of water. Because water does not obey political boundaries, watershed maps can cross county, state and even national lines. The size of a watershed can vary, but all bodies of water have one. You can think of watersheds like pieces of [...]

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Your Watershed Address (Great Lakes)

Watersheds are areas of land in which all water drains into a common body of water. Because water does not obey political boundaries, watershed maps can cross county, state and even national lines. The size of a watershed can vary, but all bodies of water have one. You can think of watersheds like pieces of [...]

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Your Watershed Address (Colorado River Basin)

Watersheds are areas of land in which all water drains into a common body of water. Because water does not obey political boundaries, watershed maps can cross county, state and even national lines. The size of a watershed can vary, but all bodies of water have one. You can think of watersheds like pieces of [...]

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Your Watershed Address (South Atlantic-Gulf)

Watersheds are areas of land in which all water drains into a common body of water. Because water does not obey political boundaries, watershed maps can cross county, state and even national lines. The size of a watershed can vary, but all bodies of water have one. You can think of watersheds like pieces of [...]

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Your Watershed Address (Rio Grande)

Watersheds are areas of land in which all water drains into a common body of water. Because water does not obey political boundaries, watershed maps can cross county, state and even national lines. The size of a watershed can vary, but all bodies of water have one. You can think of watersheds like pieces of [...]

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Your Watershed Address (North Atlantic)

Watersheds are areas of land in which all water drains into a common body of water. Because water does not obey political boundaries, watershed maps can cross county, state and even national lines. The size of a watershed can vary, but all bodies of water have one. You can think of watersheds like pieces of [...]

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