High E. Coli Levels Found in City Creek
On Monday morning, signs across City Creek entrances were posted, warning visitors of a recent discovery of high levels of E. coli bacteria found in the water.
The City of Pocatello announced its findings, advising people to avoid wading through the creek, while limiting contact with the water.
The city’s science and environmental manager Hannah Sanger said they found the bacteria during routine testing. This is done regularly, so the department could study the impacts of recreational use along with the sediment in the stream.
“We have this area we all just love so much,” Sanger said. “We just want to make sure we don’t love it to death.”
Sanger said the E. coli is most likely caused by the amount of dogs who visit during the summer months, and whose owners decide to not pick-up after the “dog logs” left behind along the creek.
“We want to make sure City Creek is a place where we could encourage people to go, recreate, have fun, and get in the stream. But now it’s going to take some work to get it back to that level,” Sanger added.
She said the creek will clean itself from the bacteria as the water continues to flow downstream and the sediment settles at the base.
She said this could take quite a while, and most likely could mean another cold season before visitors could wade in the creek by next summer.
