No, the Ohio is officially the most polluted river in North America. Industrial pollution, coal fired electric plants spew heavy metals with impunity. All the streams are open sewers for minimally, often untreated municipal sewage. Sewage plants are located every few miles on every regularly flowing creek or river. Our lakes (reservoirs), are opaque cesspools that stick to your canoe. Eating the fish in many places is banned, and just handling fishing line and lures can pass infections if you touch an eye, a sandwich, or splash it on your water bottle. Like Iowa, conservation is an afterthought politically, and a long history of dumping in streams, agricultural runoff. Ohio’s population density is 292/sq mi, Iowa’s is 52. I rest my case. Ohio is the poster child for dystopian surface and ground water pollution conditions. WE WIN!!
I’ll add that few Ohioans know what clean water looks like and blindly recreate anyway. We have very low environmental expectations.
