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United States Office of Volume 16, Number 6 Environmental Protection Communications and November/December 1990 Agency Public Affairs 20K-9006 ~EPA JOURNAL Saving the Nation's Great Water Bodies United States Office of Communications &EPA JOURNAL Environmental Protection Agency and Public Affairs Saving the Nation's Great Water Bodies William K. Reilly Admi.nistrator Lew Crampton Associate Administrator for Communications and Public Affairs Charles Osolin Director of Publications John Heritage Editor Karen Flagstad Associate Editor Ruth Barker Assistant Editor Jack Lewis Assistant Editor Nancy Starnes Assistant Editor Marilyn Rogers Circulation Manager Design Credits Ron Farrah James R. lng r<1m reat American water bodies ran ging from San Fran cisco Bay in Robert Flanagan Gthe West to Long Island Sound in the eastern United States are endan gered in a number of ways. as articles in this issue of EPA Journal illustrate. The problems range from habitat destructi on to toxic contamination, from depleted oxygen levels to the diversion of tributa ry waters. How can these national treasures be saved? The predominant theme in this sp ecial report of the magazine is that there is no Front Cover: Lake Michigan on a sing le solutio n . The problems are too diverse; the personalities of cloudy day. Sec article on page 5 . the water bodies are too different. Photo by Mike Brisson. Instead , in a point introduced by Administrator Reilly and reinforced by other contributors, it is proving necessary to fashion strategies tailormad e to particular water bodies. This emerging approach reflects lessons learned over 20 years and new insights earned as the nation's water-qual ity efforts m ove into another decade of tough environmental challenges. EPA ]011mal is printed o n recycled paper. EPA is charged by Congress to protect the nation's land, air, and water systems. Under a mandate of national environmental laws, the Agency strives to formula te and implement actions which lead to a compa ti ble balancl' between human activities and the ability of natural systems to support and nurture life. [PA /01m11i/ is publi hcd by the U.S. Environmt'ntal Protection Agency. The Admin is trator of EPA has determined that the publication of this periodical is necessary in thl' transactio n of thP public business required by law of this agency. Use of fu nds for p rinting this periodical has been approved by the Di rector of the O ffi ce of Management and Budget. Views expressed by authors do not necessaril y reflect EPA policy. No permission necessary to reproduce contents except copyrighted photos and other materials. Contributions and inquiries should be addressed to the Editor, EPA /011mal (A-107), Waterside Mall, 401 M Street, SW., Washington, O .C. 20460 VOLU ME 16 NUMBER 6 20K-9006 NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 1990 Contents 2 A Strategy to Save the Great Water Bodies 38 The Southern California Bight: Where -It's a big challenge, but there are ways to Traditional Approaches Won't Work­ meet it and im portant reasons to get the job Massive population pressures are forcing done. By William K. Reilly futuristic clean-up measures. By Wesley Marx 5 Toxics in the Great Lakes-The clean-up task 42 The Ogallala Aquifer, an Underground has gotten a lot more complicated, and in some Sea-This natural wonder is invisible to the People, boats, and the ways, more urgent. naked eye but not out of the reach of unwise water-ingredients in the By Theo Collmrn a11d l~ichard A. Liroff exploitation. By fa k Lewis mystique of our water bodies. g Citizens and the Gulf of Mexico-- 45 The Quetico-Superior Lakes: Tainted b y The story of a citizens' awakening, a critical step Surpris e--These wilderness lakes are removed fo r the fu ture of a water body. By Wesley Marx from most pollution, except what is coming from the air. By Denn Re/111ffo11i. 13 Runoff and the Chesapeake Bay-What happens on the la nd is determining the fa te of 48 Managing Nature in the Everglades-This this remarkable water resource. "river of grass" is now in humans' charge, and By William C. Baker a11d Tom Horton its fu ture depends on our wisdom. By /a111rs \Vcb/1 Pollution-Prevention Tactics in the Gulf of 17 51 The Eco-Invaders-The intrusions of the zebra Maine--Plans are afoot to pro/eel this water mussel, the sea lamprey, and some other aquatic body, instead o f waiting for damage that has n uisances are considered from the perspecti e of to be corrected. By Melissa Water111a11 geological history. By DaPid Yo1111 t 20 San Francisco Bay, Beset by Freshwater 54 An Independent Perspective-An outside Diversion-Can this resource survive observer presents his "biases" on how to ave California's thirst for water? By Harry Semydaria11 the nation's great wa ter bodies. By Willia m M . [ich/11111111 23 An Early Success for the Delaware Bay­ How a cooperative effort brought some major 57 Measuring Environmental Success-How pollution sources under control. By Brn ce Stutz do we know whether efforts to clean up the major bodies of water are really ucceeding? 26 Long Island Sound: Facing Tough Choices By Stel'<' G/0111/1 - The author argues that timing and the art of the possible are crucial elements in the clean-up 60 Looking Forward in the Office of Water­ effort. By j. R. Scl111/1el The Assistant Administrator of this EPA office spells out her vision for the nation's water 29 Financing the Cleanup of Puget Sound­ quali ty efforts. By Laj11a11a S. Wilcher This area is adopting innovative approaches to the dil emma of how to pay the pollution-control 64 Appointments-Profiles of key officials bill. By A1111elle Frahm recently named at EPA . 34 An Environmental Snapshot of the Mississippi- Human im prints have shaped the environmental character of the "Mighty Miss.," from the river's start in Min nesota to its fi ni sh in the Lo uisiana delta. By Reggie McLeod EPA Journal Subscriptions I Name - First. Last PLEASE PRINT The annual rate for subscribers in the U.S. for I I I I I I I I I I EPA journal .i s $8. The charge to subscribers in Company Name or Add<11onal Address Line foreign countries is $10 a rear. The. p rice of a single copy of EPA jouma is $2.25 rn this country and $2.81 if sent to a fo reign co untry. IStreet Add ress Prices mclude mail costs. Subscriptions to EPA I I I ~ ITT~ a sw~ l u ~M~r~& ra l ~wmmffit ~~=~=~~~~=~~~=~~~=~~~=~~~~~~~--~~~==== magazines are handled only by the U.S. wtate Zip Code Government Printing Office. Anyone wishing to I' Ci' ty I / I subscribe to EPA Journal should fill in the form I J J at right and enclose a check .or money order 1___---'---'--L--'---'--'--_J_-'--'--'-~~-~~~-~ payable to the Superintendent of Documents. Payment enclosed (Make checks payable to Superintendent of Documents) The requests should be mailed to: D Superintendent of Documents, GPO, Washington, DC 20402. D Charge to my Deposit Account No. ------ ---------------- A Strategy to Save the Great Water Bodies by William K. Reilly heir v~ry names-Ogallala and About one-third of the nation's TOntario, Champlain and sewage. effluents in 1980, for example, C~es~peake, Mississippi and were d ischarged into coastal and M1ch1.gan-echo with the poetry of marine waters. Habitat destruction American legend and evoke the glories industrial and municipal dischar g ~s . o~ Amer~can history. Our heritage as a c1vil1zat1on is indelibly intertwined with the cadence of these, the names of the nation's great waters. We are a highly Yet despite their inestimable value, compl:!rtmentalized agency, both cultural and practical, the nation's wa.ters have been damaged by the organized to control and clean up pollution ... not to po1sonous by-products of 20th century Mike Bnsson photo soc1ety. Whatever their specific prevent it. designation-lake, estuary, or aquifer; s?und, bight, or gulf; bay, wetland, or river- our great water ecosystems are runoff, and atmospheric deposits (in more than 95 billion gallons a day. (See increasingly troubled. As these huge story on the Ogallala Aquife r on page bas111s accumulate contaminants, they the early 1980s I recall being surprised at learning that up to three-fourths of 42). In some places, ground water that lose their bounty and beauty. They remains is threatened by injection of become septic tanks and toxic sinks. the PCBs in the Great Lakes were thought to come from air waste and contaminated waters, The final verdict on our seeping pesticides, failing septic deposition) : the combined'burden is turn-of-th.e-millennium civilization may systems, landfills and surface clearly overwhelming some of our most well rest in substantial part on our impoundments, accidental spills, and valuable, productive ecosystems. ability to restore the vast productivity general nonpoint runoff. Water bodies such as the Chesapeake of our nation's great bodies of water. And finally, rare and criti cal aquatic Bay and the great ri vers of the Middle Obviously, the great water bodies are h abitats everywhere are threatened. West p rovide critical habitat for d irectly affected by the human Arctic tundra, subtropical mangrove migratory waterfowl and other species. activities that surround them; and, swamps, temperate prairie pot holes, perhaps less obviously, the fate of these Yet this valuable habitat has degraded wild rivers, pristine lakes: These are to the point of endangering many ecosystems w ill, in turn, d irectl y affect truly unique ecosystems.

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