Kenai River Off the Impaired List

7/27/2010

The Kenai River has been removed from the Department of Environmental Conservation’s list of impaired water bodies in the state. Two years ago, the DEC placed the river on the list due to the pollution from two-stroke boat motors. The state banned the two-stroke motors on the lower part of the river during peak boating times.

Yesterday, the DEC released its 2010 report on the condition of water bodies across the state. Nine water bodies were added to the impaired list. They included five creeks along a new U.S. Forest Service road on Prince of Wales Island. Another new listing was Cottonwood Creek in Wasilla. The other three were Salt Chuck Bay, Red Devil Creek, and a portion of the Kuskokwim River. DEC said that these three were listed due to problems from histories mines.