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Who do you ask? There's conflicting information. Plus rivers are long and it may be safe upstream but not downstream. Is there a government office I can just call. If so is that the one useful thing the government does?

This river I'm looking at one site says there's poop and insecticides in the water. The other says the fishing is great!.

How do I get to the bottom of this without spending years studying chemistry and biochemistry and testing the water myself?

Who do you ask? There's conflicting information. Plus rivers are long and it may be safe upstream but not downstream. Is there a government office I can just call. If so is that the one useful thing the government does? This river I'm looking at one site says there's poop and insecticides in the water. The other says the fishing is great!. How do I get to the bottom of this without spending years studying chemistry and biochemistry and testing the water myself?

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[–] • 2 pts

Long time kayaker here, I see a lot of people saying look for wildlife, this won't tell you anything. I've accidentally paddled into sewage and there was plenty of all wildlife. They love it. I prefer salt myself, either paddling the surf or bay side. Salt seems safer/cleaner for me.

Freshwater, here's the trick. Figure out what lake supplies the water to your city. Paddle that and the tributaries leading into that lake. Those will be the cleanest waters in your city. Regardless of where you go, shower immediately after, this will protect you from most bacteria/parasites.