Chesapeake Bay health grade dips after hottest year on record and extreme rainfall patterns
ANNAPOLIS, Md. — The health of the Chesapeake Bay declined in an annual report card on the nation's largest estuary released Tuesday, with scientists noting the effect of extreme rainfall patterns during the hottest year on record.
The University of Maryland Center for Environmental Science gave the bay a C grade in its report card. That compares to a C-plus grade the bay received last year , which was the highest grade it had received since 2002.
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"The city manager's office, MSD, parks, and health will take immediate steps to conduct additional tests and investigate the source of potential contamination within the surrounding park," she said. While the soil and standing water samples were compared to the EPA's limits for recreational water, which would not apply to the forested area, Leonard said, "the city encourages the public to continue to exercise caution when exploring the area and follow directions on park signage." E. coli is a group of bacteria that usually lives in the gut of healthy people and animals. Normally, the kind in your gut doesn't harm you, but when ingested, some strains of the bacteria can make you sick with a gastrointestinal illness, pneumonia or a urinary tract infection. The U.S. EPA considers E. coli an indicator organism, or a way for officials monitoring water quality to identify fecal contamination of freshwater and the presence of disease-causing bacteria and viruses. 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In 2017, he co-authored a study that found that sewer overflows in Cincinnati were associated with a 16% increase in Cincinnati Children's emergency department visits for gastrointestinal illnesses among children who lived within 500 meters of the sewer. Researchers' primary hypothesis for how the children contracted the GI illnesses was that they were "playing in contaminated water" and dirtying their hands, said Beck. Student researchers first found E. coli in Burnet Woods in the fall of 2024, according to Hyland. Similarly to the preliminary research released in June, they found elevated levels of E. coli despite there being no overflow of the sewer pipes. "We were perplexed," said Hyland. "What we now are feeling more confident about, but want to do more research to build our confidence is that the pipe is probably compromised." Hyland believes the pipes are leaking sewage to the surface of the park because of their aging infrastructure and the presence of sinkholes in Burnet Woods, which can be a sign that piping is damaged. The Enquirer confirmed that there are at least two sinkholes in the area near where the E. coli was found. Leonard confirmed that some pipe segments running underneath Burnet Woods were installed in the late 1800s, while newer segments were installed in the 1990s. "All the segments are inspected regularly and are in good condition with no structural issues," she said. Government records and neighborhood meeting notes indicate that residents living near Burnet Woods were affected by a sewage overflow more than once in the past year. Burnet Woods saw a sewage overflow once this year and twice in 2024 during heavy rains, according to Leonard. When that happens, she said that Cincinnati Parks, in collaboration with the Metropolitan Sewer District, installs signage notifying park visitors of the potential contamination. The meeting minutes for the Corryville Community Council, a membership organization for residents of the neighborhood, mention sewer overflow or the smell of sewage at least four times between January 2024 and now. The most recent finding of E. coli in Burnet Woods follows a sewage leak at Winton Lake in May, which resulted in officials suspending recreational activities at the lake. This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: Part of Cincinnati park roped off after E. coli found
