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Millions of Mayflies Prove Mississippi River is Less Polluted
The millions of mayflies that lit up the La Crosse, Wisconsin, weather radar on July 20 are a sign that the water of the Mississippi River is markedly cleaner than just a few decades ago.
In the 1980s, the Mississippi was so polluted that the bugs virtually disappeared according to the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency:
For the delicate mayfly — which is sensitive to chemical pollutants, increases in sediment and decreases in oxygen levels in the water — pollution ensured the collapse of their populations. By the 1980s, mayfly hatches had disappeared from rivers and streams in Minnesota. The collapse of mayflies from the aquatic food chain also meant the disappearance of stoneflies, caddis flies and even some species of fish from the Mississippi River.
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