How much e-coli should be in the water?
June 28, 2007
How much e-coli should be in the water?
RICHMOND, Va. (AP) -- State regulators have proposed increasing the acceptable amount of fecal bacteria in Virginia's
streams, rivers and lakes.
The State Water Control Board will make a final decision next year after a public-comment period this fall.
E-coli bacteria is found in the waste of humans and other warm-blooded animals. People who swallow water with E. coli
can suffer from vomiting and diarrhea.
State Department of Environmental Quality staff members, who advise the board, have said it makes sense
to relax the bacteria limit because it's almost impossible to meet the standard in many waterways.
DEQ staffers have said the relaxed limits would still protect the public. The Virginia Department of Health has taken no
position.
In Virginia, about 72-hundred miles of river are polluted by fecal bacteria or other substances.
The DEQ estimates that 720 miles that don't meet the current bacteria limit would comply with the relaxed standard.
The actions would not affect saltwater beaches, which operate under different standards.
http://www.wdbj7.com/Global/story.asp?S=6723596
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