Routine water monitoring by the Rivanna Conservation Alliance has detected elevated levels of e. coli bacteria in Meade Creek near Meade Park.
Charlottesville is warning people to avoid contact with the waterway.
“E.coli is a type of fecal coliform bacteria and when it is found in water, it is a strong indicator of sewage or animal waste contamination which can cause disease or illness,” reads a press release sent out this afternoon.
Meade Creek is a tributary of the Rivanna River that begins beneath Garden Street and Walnut Street in the Belmont neighborhood and flows north through an underground pipe before becoming daylighted at Meade Park.
The city will keep the public up to date on a new urban stream health webpage. Pollocks Branch is another waterway where E. coli is frequently detected.
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