Human activities such as industrial production, transportation, and day-to-day living are sources of many contaminants that flow into the Columbia River, according to a report released May 8 by the U.S. Geological Survey.
A recently completed reconnaissance study detected hundreds of these contaminants in water samples collected from wastewater treatment plant effluent and storm runoff from roads and other urban environments in nine cities that line the Columbia River in Oregon and Washington, according to a USGS press release. The nine cities, in downstream order, are Wenatchee, Richland, Umatilla, The Dalles, Hood River, Portland, Vancouver, St. Helens, and Longview.
“Many of these
