Sediment-laden water from a tributary can harm water quality of rivers

Sediment-laden water from a tributary, where development is probably taking place, entering the clearer Chattahoochee River near Atlanta, Georgia. If preventative measures are not taken on construction sites where runoff flows into a nearby stream or creek, results like this can happen. The large amount of suspended sediment can harm water quality of not only the tributary but also of the receiving river.

Credit: USGS, Public domain.

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• Turbidity and water

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