City says Golden Gardens Creek has low levels of fecal coliform

Golden Gardens Creek may not be as contaminated as first thought.

File photo from May 2009.

Water samples taken by Seattle Public Utilities (SPU) on Wednesday show very low levels of fecal coliform, a press release from Joelle Hammerstad at Seattle Parks and Recreation states. The press release goes on:

Parks requested that SPU take samples from the creek to determine the health and safety of the creek for recreational use. SPU has a team of inspectors who are trained to detect sewage inflow that is entering stormwater systems. Sampling on Wednesday confirmed that sewage from the City’s system is not entering the stream.

“As a result of the information released today, Public Health – Seattle & King County does not recommend closing the creek,” said Charles Wu, King County Public Health & Environmental Investigator. “However, there is always the potential for urban streams to be contaminated from a variety of sources, including pet and wildlife waste, and so we advise people to stay out of urban creeks at all times.”

It is normal for bacteria levels in urban creeks to fluctuate due to changing conditions, such as rainfall and the presence of other sources of bacteria including wildlife, pets and human activity.

Earlier this week we reported that Surfrider Foundation has found high levels of fecal coliform in the creek since they started testing the water in March. “The City values volunteers who care about our urban parks and streams and intends to work cooperatively with volunteers from Surfrider Foundation to compare sampling information, provide technical support and develop a better common understanding of the data that are being collected,” the press release from the Parks Department states.