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Water: Lakes

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Clean Lakes

Clean Lakes

Comprising 39.9 million acres, lakes and reservoirs are a major water resource in this country. Freshwater inland lakes and reservoirs provide our nation with 70% of its drinking water and supply water for industry, irrigation, and hydropower. Lake ecosystems support complex and important food web interactions and provide habitat needed to support numerous threatened and endangered species. Lakes are also the cornerstone of our nation's 19 billion dollar freshwater fishing industry, form the backbone of numerous State tourism industries, and provide countless recreational opportunities.

This Clean Lakes site includes information on a broad range of topics:

Features

Use the Lakes Awareness Publications Order Form (PDF) (1 pg, 175K) to request these items:

Learning About Lakefront Property (PDF) (4 pp, 9.3MB) — EPA 840-F-10-003, Oct. 2010
Healthy Lakes & Higher Property Values Factsheet (PDF) (2 pp, 2.6MB) — EPA 840-F-10-002, Oct. 2010
Open the Door to Clean Lakes! (PDF) (2 pp, 108K) — EPA 841-E-10-002, laminated door hanger, Oct. 2010
Clean Lakes Need Healthy Lakeshores; Healthy Lakeshores Need You (PDF) (1 pg, 170K) — EPA 840-E-10-001, fish-shaped, floating key chain, Oct. 2010

Natural Lakeshore Tips

Watershed Academy Webcasts on Lakes

National Lakes Assessment Report (April 2010)

Lakes Awareness Month

Quality of the Nation's Lakes, Ponds and Reservoirs

Nonpoint Source Section 319 homepage

National Study of Chemical Residues in Lake Fish Tissue Study

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