News
E. Coli Found In Goose Run Creek
By: WOUB Contributing Writer
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Ohio EPA testing has found high levels of E. Coli in Goose Run.
Goose Run is one of the tributaries that runs into the Muskingum River. It flows through town, right by the Marietta YMCA, McDonald's and through the Marietta College campus.
The Ohio EPA tested for E. Coli and other bacteria last summer in Goose Run and found high levels way over the standard. However they only tested the end of the creek right where it hit the Muskingum River.
Jesse Daubert, the Watershed Coordinator for Friends of the Lower Muskingum River asked them to come back this year and test in different areas of Goose Run so they could pin-point the source of the problem.
He says there is the possibility a sewage pipe up stream may be cracked however much more research needs to be done.
"I had asked them to come back because I'd identified it as a problem. It will be put into the action plan because as of Monday, it will be going through the official endorsement process through the state of Ohio. But I had asked them to come back and set up three more sampling locations, actually four, along Goose Run so we can locate the main tributary source that could be contributing to the problem," said Jesse Daubert, Watershed Coordinator with the Friends of the Lower Muskingum River.
Now both Daubert and the Ohio EPA says the Muskingum River itself has improved water quality and aquatic life greatly over the years, so the overall concern is less however, still there.
Ohio EPA Representative Erin Strouss says it is not a serious concern right now to the public however, if you are to swim in the river or Goose Run remember to always shower afterwards and if you have any cuts or wounds, that is what might be effected if you are to come in contact with E. Coli.
The Ohio EPA will be here throughout the summer testing the water.