Troubled waters: How many of Georgia’s lakes, rivers and creeks are polluted?

ATLANTA — It’s summer still in Georgia and hot temperatures means people are looking for ways to cool off and stay cool, while still soaking in the summer sun.

The State of Georgia has hundreds of miles of rivers and streams, and hundreds of thousands of acres of lakes and reservoirs for recreation.

However, before you dive in to the state’s lakes, rivers, streams or reservoirs, you may want to know what you’re swimming in.

According to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, 380,396 acres of water in Georgia’s lakes, ponds and reservoirs were tested, and nearly 115,800 acres were described as impaired with pollutants.

That means about 30% of Georgia’s lakes and reservoirs were said to be impaired.

The EPA report, based on the most recent assessments in 2022, showed that 25% of the lakes and reservoirs in Georgia had algae pollution, while 6% had nitrogen and phosphorus pollution and 6% had bacteria and microbe pollution.

The EPA report did not mention if the algae, nitrogen or phosphorous and bacteria or microbe sections had any locations in common.

When it comes to the state’s rivers, creeks and streams, 250 miles were assessed, though 87 miles did not have sufficient information for a rating.

Of the 163 miles that could be tested, only 26 miles were in good condition. The remaining portion, 137 miles, was rated as impaired.

From the data, the percentage of impaired miles of the rivers and streams that had enough information was about 84%, according to the EPA.

More broadly, including the insufficient information portions, about 58% of rivers and streams in Georgia were impaired with bacteria and other microbes, rather than algae or nutrients.

Nationally, the EPA reports 42% of the United States is reported to have elevated phosphorous and nitrogen levels in its rivers and streams.

When it comes to lakes, 24% of U.S. lakes have high levels of algae, 45% of lakes have excess nutrients like nitrogen and phosphorous (which boosts algae growth) and 21% of lakes have measured levels of cyanotoxin, which is caused by bacteria and is a risk to the public’s drinking water.