The Dominion Post
8 November 2005
Editorial
Don't be afraid to go in the water again, but you might want to ask questions first.
The Dominion Post has been asking a lot of tough questions about the Morgantown watershed this year. And although the answers in some instances, especially the Monongahela River, were encouraging, others were equally discouraging or worse.
Last week, we noted here the positive test results from the Monongahela River and Cheat Lake that clearly recommend these waterways for recreational use.
However, recent samplings at different sites along Poponoe Run, Burroughs Run and Aarons Creek recommend any usage should be suspect.
Though a portion of Poponoe Run served as an outdoor lab for students this summer and as a wading area by children from nearby Krepps Park, we don't recommend it.
Test results from this stream, at Krepps Park, revealed elevated levels - more than eight times the minimum state standards - of fecal coliform.
Although the state only mandates standards for an E. coli count at designated swimming areas, and Poponoe Run is not one, the count was still more than five times higher than is considered safe.
Everyone is in agreement that sampling water for total coliform, fecal coliform and E. coli, not to mention other forms of pollution, comes complete with many nuances. A wide range of readings on a given day are not uncommon. The source of the pollution, for example, can sometimes be attributed to a myriad of sources, from livestock waste to abandoned out-houses - miles away.
Yet, needless to say, water samples that indicate dangerous levels of bacteria on any given day in an area frequented by children are a good reason to be concerned. We realize no agency, not the state Department of Environmental Protection or the Morgan-town Utility Board, can control all the bacteria that enters there.
But they and others can warn people, especially park visitors, nearby residents and the general public that Poponoe Run and other streams are potentially dangerous - especially for children, who are far more vulnerable to E. coll. We do recommend that the DEP, MUB, BOPARC or even the city commission future lab tests of streams, like Poponoe Run, where people are in regular contact with their waters - even if it is not designated as a swimming area. That coupled with signage at points of entry to the streams and other public warnings are all well advised.
Finding and eliminating sources of bacteria in streams is far more problematic than determining its degree and warning people about it, but that should also be a future consideration.
Our community should test these waters and warn people to ensure the public's safety, and more importantly to protect our community's entire watershed.
Bacteria in public streams should not be allowed to become just a matter of water under the bridge.