The Department of Natural Resources has announced that the Grand River Watershed has reached the level of impaired use in three categories. The announcement is due to elevated levels of E. coli bacteria.
The Grand River Watershed covers an area of 18 counties in Missouri, including Livingston County, Worth, Gentry, DeKalb, Clinton, Harrison, Daviess, Caldwell, Ray, Mercer, Grundy, Livingston, Carroll, Putnam, Sullivan, Linn, Chariton, Nodaway, and Andrew Counties. The watershed includes waters on the Grand River, Middle Fork Grand River, East Fork Grand River, Locust Creek, and East Fork Locust Creek.
Impaired Use: Grand River Watershed
Whole-body contact recreation in categories A & B – this includes swimming and similar activities where water ingestion could occur.
The third category is called “Secondary Contact Recreation,” which includes fishing, wading, commercial and recreational boating, any limited contact incidental to shoreline activities, and activities in which users do not swim or float in the water.
The Missouri Department of Natural Resources Total Maximum Daily Load report has been released, identifying pollutant loading that will restore the water to conditions that meet water quality standards.
The report identified possible sources of E. coli contamination, both permitted and unpermitted. These can include treatment facilities, agricultural land runoff, and feedlot runoff as a few examples.
Lower water levels and drought conditions are also considerations for the report.
According to DNR Environmental Program Supervisor for the Total Maximum Daily Load Unit, Michael Kruse, the state does not prohibit swimming in these impaired streams, but there is an increased risk of illness during periods when E. coli concentrations are high. This typically occurs after rainfall events when overland runoff enters the stream.
If you frequent these bodies of water for any reason, take special precautions to wash your hands before eating, smoking, or engaging in other activities that encourage hand-to-mouth contact.
Symptoms of Shiga toxin-producing E. coli (STEC) infection vary for each person but often include severe stomach cramps, diarrhea (often bloody), and vomiting.
Some people may have a fever, which usually is not very high (less than 101°F/38.5°C). Most people get better within 5 to 7 days. Some infections are very mild, but others are severe or even life-threatening. Most people start feeling sick 3 to 4 days after eating or drinking something that contains the bacteria. However, illnesses can start anywhere from 1 to 10 days after exposure.
Contact your healthcare provider if you have diarrhea that lasts for more than 3 days or diarrhea that is accompanied by a fever higher than 102°F, bloody diarrhea, or so much vomiting that you cannot keep liquids down and you pass very little urine.
A draft of the TMDL for the Grand River is currently available for public comment through August 14th and is available at this link
CDC E. Coli Information is available at this link.
