Pollution thwarts cities’ efforts to frolic in rivers

DES MOINES, Iowa — There’s a dirty secret for many U.S. cities that want to upgrade their urban waterways into scenic destinations: Much of the water is so polluted with manure that people fear it’s not safe to dip their hands in the current, let alone to swim in it.

The unseen but potentially dangerous pollutants threaten to undermine the efforts of dozens of communities seeking to turn rivers into urban amenities that will attract tourists and businesses and become centerpieces of downtown life.

“It’s an issue in any city trying to do this,” said Rick Tollakson, a Des Moines, Iowa, developer who is leading the push to remove small dams along the Des Moines and Raccoon rivers to create whitewater courses as part of a larger regional “water trail” plan.

“The rivers are not as clean as people would like them to be.”

In fact, most U.S. rivers are far cleaner than in decades past, largely because of the federal Clean Water Act, which was approved in 1972. But many waterways still carry farm runoff and city sewage that contain nitrates, ammonia and E.coli bacteria, according to the Environmental Protection Agency.

In Des Moines, the problem comes mainly from animal waste and chemical fertilizers that drain into the rivers from farmland. The city treats the water to make it drinkable, but that doesn’t help paddlers and swimmers who could be exposed to high bacteria levels, especially after heavy rains.

In Columbus, Ga., thousands of people flock to a 2½-mile whitewater course built in 2013 even though raw sewage occasionally flows into the Chattahoochee River during big rainstorms.

Juliet Cohen, executive director of the environmental group Chattahoochee Riverkeeper, said the river’s popularity makes it all the more important to ensure that it is free of health risks.

The conservation group is pushing officials to improve the community’s sewage system.

In Los Angeles, officials are open about bacteria in the LA River, even as they encourage residents to kayak through stretches of a 51-mile waterway.