More than half of monitored Pennsylvania waterways had unsafe E. coli levels last year, group says
As we head into the dog days of summer, the streams and rivers across the Pittsburgh area may not be the best spot to cool off. Environmental groups said several waterways across the state tested high for E. coli.
Saw Mill Run can be a place of peace, but fecal matter contributes to elevated E. coli levels. It's a problem for much of the region with older infrastructure where sewage overflow can get into the waterways.
"It's not really something you want to be playing in or wading in," PennEnvironment western Pennsylvania advocate Wanda Wilson said.
PennEnvironment Research and Policy Center looked at state environmental protection data and found Saw Mill Run had the bacteria at unsafe levels in nearly 90% of its samples. Streets Run was about 55%.
"That's just a sample that's indicative of streams around Pittsburgh," Wilson said.
Across the state, the group looked at data that says 55% of monitored locations had unsafe levels of E. coli for at least a day in 2025.
"There shouldn't be E. coli in the water, and so anything we can do to prevent it, even if there's areas that people don't necessarily go to, maybe we could create an area that people would go to," Three Rivers Waterkeeper environmental scientist Koa Reitz said.
Groups like Three Rivers Waterkeeper go to sites around the region to test water. When they found problems like high levels of E. coli in Pine Creek a couple of weeks ago, they worked with ALCOSAN to fix it.
"They had crews out working on the issue and bypassing the pipe so no more E. coli was flowing into the creek," Reitz said.
If you are in water with high levels of E. coli, it's recommended you clean your hands to prevent any spread of bacteria.
ALCOSAN is working on a multibillion-dollar clean water plan to reduce sewage in waterways. Its website says the timeline will take about another decade to complete.
