Summer is here, and so lots of folks want to hit the beaches, swim in the ocean, and jump into local rivers.
But before you do that or even put your toe in the water, here are some rivers you might want to avoid.
Topping the list of bad news is the holy river of Hinduism, the Ganges in India. Dumped into its waters is industrial waste, trash and sewage that makes the Ganges the most polluted river in the world.
Coming in at number two is the Citarum River in Indonesia.
Are you heading to Europe? You might want to skip the Sarno in Italy. Its waters are carrying an alarming amount of sewage and chemical foam. So what’s the better choice when you visit Pompeii or Naples? It’s just the Mediterranean.
And the dirtiest river in the U.S. is the mighty Mississippi–thanks to the nearby factories and farms that have used the river for years for their fertilizers and industrial waste runoff. So for the foreseeable future, just enjoy the Mississippi from a riverboat or from the shore.
Photo Credit: Christoph Oles
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