ATLANTA — If you have any plans of shooting the Hooch or just swimming in the Chattahoochee River, you may want to rethink that.
Severe Weather Team 2 Chief Meteorologist Brad Nitz says the runoff from the rain over the last few days has caused E. coli levels to spike above 4,000.
“Anything above 235 is high risk for infection for swimmers, according to the EPA,” Nitz said.
Symptoms of E. coli include diarrhea, stomach pains and cramps, loss of appetite, and low fever. Symptoms usually start within three to five days after drinking or eating foods contaminated with this E. coli bacteria. Other strains can make you sick within hours, the Cleveland Clinic said.
Because E. coli levels rise so often in the river, the Chattahoochee Riverkeeper now posts E. coli levels on its website.
The feature is called Neighborhood Water Watch.
Once you click the body of water you’re going to -- you’ll see one of two colors: green and red.
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Green shows there are low E.coli levels, while red shows there’s a high risk.
“If it’s rained in the last 48 hours and the river and the lake is high and muddy, we typically tell people to stay out of the water.” Jessica Sterling with the Chattahoochee Riverkeeper said. “If the water is bright green, that’s sometimes a sign… there’s algae in the water that produces toxins that can make people really sick.”
CRK says it monitors more than 300 sites (rivers, lakes, etc.) and takes samples weekly. The agency also wants people to keep in mind that water quality conditions can quickly change.
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