Most Polluted Rivers In America, One Flows Through Texas

There are a great many things that lead to water contaminates flowing through Texas like factory pollution, soil runoff after a heavy rain or flood, and of course the cumulative drainage of irrigation and other agricultural discharge which can include animal waste.

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For the past couple of years, Texas has been in a drought and needing extra annual rainfall to pull ourselves out. At last reading, Belton Lake was 65% full, Stillhouse Hollow was 60% of capacity, and they serve as our source of water in the Killeen-Temple area as our populations continue to surge.

What Texas river is among the most polluted in America?

Even though the Red River only flows through or past 5 states, about half of that is Texas, it does pick up a large amount of pollution before reaching the Atchafalaya Basin in Louisiana. It is the 14th most polluted river in the United States according to Ecocation.

Most Polluted Rivers In America, One Flows Through Texas

It is quite the contrast that much of the Red River flows through areas that frequently struggle with lack of rain, and ends in the largest swamp in the United States.

The issue with high amounts of rainfall in a short amount of time in areas that are not traditionally wet, is it picks up everything that has been lying dormant in the soil, and can become reactivated as it mixes with other particles in the drainage.

Polluted rivers are very easy to spot, but we must also be mindful of our ground water and how anything we dump can end up underground in wells, aquifers, or our many reservoirs. We must all do our part to take care of what is the most valuable resource in Texas.