Morgantown Dominion Post
4 November 2005
Letter to the Editor
After reading the front page story "Monongahela Tests Clean" (DP-Oct. 30) only a few weeks after another front-page headline (DP-Sept. 25) "Mon River Contaminated," some people might be confused.
I commend The Dominion Post for going beyond government reports and doing some legwork to get the facts straight. The first story cited an EPA report that listed the Monongahela as contaminated. Unfortunately that article didn't look into the secondary facts, which are that the Mon, like just about all the planet's surface and its atmosphere, has pollution problems.
I was disappointed at the large headline given to the original article, and I certainly hope that those who read it got to see the second. The river is so maligned, unjustly, mostly by those who have lived here for years and remember the bad old days before the Clean Water Act of 1972 - more than 33 years ago. A few catfish survived those days of heavy pollution, but little else.
I'd like to go to a place where there's no pollution. I'd like to walk down the street and not breathe toxins; to be in a world that's not littered. But today, we have to deal with pollution everywhere. That the river is relatively unpolluted - according to The Dominion Post's tests - is a testament to the effectiveness of federal laws that caused the river to return from a murky mess that only the hardy catfish could call home, to an ecosystem today that supports more than 75 species, including the environmentally sensitive paddle fish, the American sturgeon.
I've come to regard the Mon as an entity that shares with me the connection to the environment that our world of TV and technology lack. It's only a 10-minute walk from where I live and work. It's a lovely place in all seasons and a bird watching, sunset appreciation focal point. The river has given me such hours of pleasure - in the spring when black locust was profuse in bloom, this summer when the thermometer was at 90 degrees, and a sunset swim at Red Rocks cooled me as no air conditioner could. Now, I paddle up toward Round Bottom and marvel at the fall colors of the hills reflected on the surface as in a mirror.
And it's not just me, although you can find no more than a score or so who regularly swim in the Mon. I've talked with many who boat, fish, and otherwise appreciate the Monongahela.
So, I'm glad The Dominion Post went to the trouble to test the water. Sure, there are some cans and plastic bottles floating above the dam and along the banks - superficial blemishes that can be addressed. However, we should recognize that the Mon is better than it has been in a long time, and we should celebrate it.
Tim Terman Morgantown