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Report: One-fourth of Idaho's Water Marred by Staff The Olympian, January 20, 2006

BOISE - At least a quarter of Idaho's streams, lakes and rivers fail to meet water quality standards, according to a report by the state Department of Environmental Quality.

The report, recently approved by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, measured surface water quality across the state. It covered about half of Idaho's nearly 93,000 shoreline miles and concluded only about 22,000 miles met water quality standards.

"If the critters we expect to be in the stream are there, the stream is in pretty good health," said Mike Edmondson, a DEQ spokesman. "If they're not there, then something is going on."

The most common culprits of stream and other surface water impairment include sediment buildup, too many nutrients and too-high temperatures, Edmondson said, though he warned that few water quality problems are simple.