WHEELING - West Virginia is working with five other states and the federal government to clean up about 475 miles of the Ohio River that is sometimes unfit for swimming because of sewage.
The Ohio River Valley Water Sanitation Commission analyzed more than 14,000 samples taken between Pittsburgh and Cairo, Ill., and found high fecal counts following heavy rains along almost half of the 981-mile river.
The amount of harmful pathogens from sewage found in local samples of Ohio River water exceeded acceptable limits many times in May, June and July and on a few occasions in August, September and October. An average monthly level of fecal coliform that is considered safe is 200/100 milliliters of water, according to the study. For E. coli, a safe monthly average is listed at 130/100 milliliters.
But in May alone, levels of fecal coliform in samples taken at four local points along the river all exceeded those safe monthly averages: At Pike Island, the monthly average for May was 527/100 milliliters; at Warwood, 458/100 milliliters; at Wheeling, 701/100 milliliters; and at the Ohio-Marshall county line, 894/100 milliliters.
The monthly May average for E.coli was much the same, with readings including: Pike Island, 186/100 milliliters; Warwood, 178/100 milliliters; Wheeling, 124/100 milliliters; and the Ohio-Marshall county line, 544/100 milliliters. Although the average amount of E. coli at Wheeling did fall within acceptable limits, the fecal coliform level made the overall pathogen level unacceptable.
Much of the sewage in the river came from treatment-plant overflows, groundwater runoff from farms and slaughterhouses, and tanning, pulp and paper factories, ORSANCO said.
Roughly 2,000 companies and municipalities have permits to discharge treated wastewater into the Ohio River and its 130 tributaries. Problems occur when heavy rains cause water flows to exceed treatment plants' capacity, allowing untreated waste to flow into the river.
The Ohio provides drinking water to nearly 3 million people and is a major transportation route. It also is a source for manufacturing and power generation.
The commission is working with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Ohio, Pennsylvania and West Virginia to develop a remediation plan required to meet water quality standards of the federal Clean Water Act. Tetra Tech Inc. of Fairfax, Va., has been hired to provide consulting services and help develop the plan by 2010.
Public hearings are scheduled next month in all six states.