Polluted Delaware River?

As a resident of Delaware I feel that the Delaware River has been polluted by particular companies some of which still frequently dump their accidents in not to mention their frequent releases of accidental toxic waste into our air. Can anything be done to make these companies clean up after their previous hundred years of destroying our, my Delaware River? I can't eat from it, swim in it, darn you aren't even allowed to wade in it! How polluted is that? So many PCPs they don't want to "distrurb" them? What's with that? I say duPont and Valero and the rest of them should start cleaning up their mess before they skip out to China and pollute their rivers. Anyone agree with me or have suggestions?|||I defintitely agree with you. But the Delaware, like most of our nations waterways are making a comeback since the passage of important legislation like EPA's Clean Water Act and the Water Quality Act.





Still, I have to agree with you. There is lots more to do before we can feel comfortable about using the waterways like the Deleware and Hudson for recreation. It would be nice if Congress would agree to stiffer penalites for industrial pollutors and give government branches like the EPA to wherewithal (increased funding and legal authority) to enforce those penalties. ... so American rivers don't wind up as useless and polluted as the Yellow River in China.|||I suggest going for a swim.... If you melt, then it's to the point where it needs some help.|||That's the problem with living down-river. Economically, it has its advantages; environmentally, it has disadvantages.





Actually, the problem may not be as bad as you think. Shad are returning to the Delaware. Granted, they aren't sturgeon but it's a start. And before you start castigating DuPont, you might like to know that I surveyed one of their plants for fish and wildlife. It was amazingly diverse, suggesting that they must be doing something right. They aren't about to risk the fines that would be levied if they got caught dumping. Current pollution is more likely to be the result of non-point pollution, which is the hardest to control.|||Here is a link to the the Delaware Riverkeeper Network. If you take time to carefully read the entire page, it answers some of your questions and gives a report card status of the river in 1995. Things are probably better than that now. The page ends with an invitation to join the organization. If you care enough, you should consider joining.





http://www.delawareriverkeeper.org/facts鈥?/a>