Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SUNDAY, August 6, 1995 TAG: 9508070063
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: B-4 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: Associated Press
DATELINE: RICHMOND LENGTH: Medium
Hundreds of miles of rivers in Virginia are so contaminated with bacteria that people should avoid swimming in them, state officials say. That's a small fraction of state rivers. But for eager swimmers, avoiding the trouble spots is not always easy.
The state Department of Environmental Quality said more than 33,000 miles of rivers are safe, but more than 500 miles are only partially suitable for swimming and more than 200 miles are unfit.
The department does not publicize which waters are polluted. The Health Department doesn't routinely monitor river swimming, and it rarely posts areas as health risks.
Critics say the agencies should work more closely to warn people about dirty waters.
``The public certainly has a right to know, and signs should be posted in areas where you shouldn't be swimming,'' said Marie Kulick, Virginia program director for Clean Water Action, a national environmental group.
Health officials say the risk to swimmers doesn't justify the cost of a statewide posting program.
``If we saw outbreaks of diseases from swimming in rivers ... we would do something about it. But in the absence of that data, we are unlikely to spend a lot of resources trying to prevent a problem we probably do not have,'' said Bob Custard, an environmental health project manager with the state Health Department.
The biggest threats are microbes from human and animal waste. The pollutants typically come from poorly treated sewage or storm-water runoff from farms. People who swim in polluted water can end up with anything from a mild upset stomach or ear infection to serious cases of diarrhea and hepatitis.
The trouble is, those who get sick don't always know the source.
``You could think it was something you ate,'' Kulick said.
The impaired streams include portions of the South River, Mossy Creek, Lewis Creek, Moffett Creek and Middle River in Augusta County; parts of the North River, Mill Creek, Blacks Run, Muddy Creek and Christians Creek in Rockingham County; parts of Catoctin Creek and Broad Run in Loudoun County; 37.5 miles of the Appomattox River and tributaries in Amelia, Powhatan and Chesterfield counties; and 8.8 miles of Bailey Creek in Prince George County.
The 1972 Clean Water Act requires states to make their rivers safe for swimming and fishing, but environmental officials say they don't have the equipment to outline polluted rivers on a map.
Custard, of the Health Department, said his agency doesn't post problem rivers because it doesn't have the staff, the General Assembly doesn't require such a program and there is little documented need.
In the past 30 years, there has been only one known outbreak of disease from swimming in waterways, and that was from a lake, not a river, Custard said.
Custard acknowledged that others may have come down with illnesses that weren't reported to the Health Department.
``The point of the data is, we are not seeing hundreds of people becoming ill where there's a pattern of something the health department needs to step in and do something about,'' he said.
The department occasionally tests water, usually lakes, at some campgrounds or Boy Scout camps with swimming areas, Custard said, and some localities check their waters for swimming safety.
Many other states, including North Carolina and Maryland, also do not have statewide health programs for river swimming.
To check on swimming holes, phone your local health department or the Department of Environmental Quality at (804) 762-4570.
by CNB