The water of the Lehigh River Watershed can vary from the extreme of high flooding to the serene of recreation. It can now include high levels of toxic chemicals linked to reproductive health risks.
"It was second highest in the nation and also ranked in the top 34 chemicals that are linked to cancers. So really one of the most polluted waterways in the country," said Flora Cardoni of environmental group Penn Environment.
She is referring to the "Wasting our Waterways" report released this week.
It looked at the number of pounds of toxic chemicals dumped into waterways. While the Lehigh is second for the most toxic chemicals linked to reproductive health, overall, it showed Pennsylvania has the 9th worst pollution in the country.
"I'm shocked by it and disappointed to hear that it is as bad as it is," said Matt MacConnell, who has been the Chair of the Sierra Club Lehigh Valley for more than a decade.
MacConnell has been testing area waterways. He says the health of the Lehigh has been good but hasn't tested for chemicals in the recent report.
"We know people are dumping things in the water but unless you kill fish you can't get anyone's attention," he said.
The report used self-reported data from industrial companies to the EPA. It showed more than 5.8 million pounds of toxic chemicals were dumped into the Pennsylvania waterways in 2020.
It shows that Whitehall-based cement manufacturing plant Holcim, Inc., which sits on the banks of the Lehigh River, released the most toxic chemicals into rivers of any facility in the state and is the 15th highest polluter in the country.
Holcim did not respond to our calls for comment.
"Every single one of those individual chemicals may have an allowable limit but cumulatively all those chemicals together create something else," said Northampton County Commissioner Tara Zrinski.
She says that's why laws, especially the Federal Clean Water Act, need to be strengthened. She says that federal and state agencies are under staffed and can't keep up with polluters.
The PA Department of Environmental Protection, which regulates water quality under the Clean Streams Law and federal Clean Water Act, said it had not reviewed the report.
On Monday the United States Supreme Court will hear a case based out of Idaho that could strip the federal government of enforcement powers over water and wetlands.
