Number of polluted waters in state, counties continue to rise

The proposed EPA Impaired Waters List for 2016 in Wisconsin contains 1,694 listings, more than double the 761 approved for the list in 2004.

The Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources (DNR) has recommended an additional 209 waterways for the 2016 list. Every two years, under section 303 of the federal Clean Water Act, the EPA requires states to publish a list of all waters that are not meeting water quality standards.

"I was astonished that the list has increased like this and, more than that, I am dismayed," said Dean Hoegger, president and executive director of the Clean Water Action Council of Northeast Wisconsin.