• cymbal_king@lemmy.world
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    2 days ago

    Not sure about the specifics in this particular case, but here are common things that contribute to poor river water quality:

    • Impermeable surfaces in human-built environments, which cause water to flow more quickly and therefore erode river banks (dams and retaining ponds help slow down water flows)
    • Residential and agricultural fertilizer/manure runoff, increases nutrients in water that cause microbes to grow faster
    • Tiling agricultural fields, which releases more of the above
    • Untreated human sewage
    • Improper dumping of industrial chemicals, or breach of containment due to upstream flooding
    • Runoff from abandoned mines