I suspect many people were as shocked and dismayed as I was to learn of the dangerously high levels of fecal contamination found in recent testing of Hawksbill Creek. How could the jewel of our small town’s green space be nothing more than a toxic mixture of mostly cow feces?
Unfortunately, this is not a new situation. What is even sadder is that families, children and pets have been wading, splashing and having fun in the stream for some time without ever being made aware of the multitude of pathogens lurking within. The good news is that the problem is fixable.
While we can never completely remove wildlife feces, we can certainly take the cows out of the game and then make sure our sewer pipes and septic tanks aren’t leaking into the creek. There are special state and federal programs to help farmers remove their cows from creeks and rivers and provide them with other cleaner water sources. I know this because I use these programs myself to fence and protect my half-mile property line on the Shenandoah River and my 20,000-square-foot pond.
The city and other entities have done a great job creating a beautiful green space that we all love and cherish. How can we allow two or three sources of pollution to ruin it for all of us? The city deserves better. Our children deserve better.
Let’s clean the loggerhead turtle!
Susan Corbett ~ Stanley, Virginia.
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