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Slight Improvement in Wicomico River Water Quality

 

SALISBURY, Md. (AP) - An annual study of pollution levels in the Wicomico River and its watershed shows that levels went down slightly in 2011.

The Daily Times in Salisburyreports that results from the Wicomico Creekwatchers' 2011 Water Quality Monitoring Results were mixed.

Creekwatchers supervisor Judith Stribling says water clarity went down substantially, which she attributed to low rainfall. That keeps the river from flushing out and promotes algae growth.

The river is listed as an impaired body by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency,

The results come as Salisbury enters the first phase of a plan to clean up the East Prong of the river. Stribling says the biggest improvement in water quality will come when the city of Salisbury completes improvements on a faulty wastewater treatment plant.

Don Rush is the News Director and Senior Producer of News and Public Affairs at Delmarva Public Media. An award-winning journalist, Don reports major local issues of the day, from sea level rise, to urban development, to the changing demographics of Delmarva.