Nearly half of the lake acreage in 34 states is badly polluted or likely soon to become that way, the Environmental Protection Agency said Tuesday.

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The EPA's latest survey of lake water quality shows that serious pollution problems have impaired about one-fourth of more than 12 million acres of lakes examined in those states. Pollution threatens similar impairment in another 20 percent of the lake acres.While the causes for the lake pollution varied, three-fourths of the pollution was attributed to agricultural and urban runoffs. Another 11 percent was blamed on industrial or sewage releases and the remainder to natural causes.

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