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WINONA LAKE – On Tuesday, Sept. 2, the Lilly Center for Lakes & Streams was alerted to a potential point-source pollution incident on Cherry Creek in Winona Lake.
Testing by the Lilly Center’s research lab confirmed dangerous levels of E. coli present at the source. The town of Winona Lake responded immediately to this incident and is taking steps to identify the source of the pollution and fix the problem, according to a news release from the Lilly Center.
A local educator noticed that Cherry Creek was off-color and had a foul odor. Specifically, it seemed to be flowing from a black pipe near the intersection of Chestnut Avenue and Columbia Drive.
The Lilly Center collected water samples upstream of the pollution source, at the pollution source, and downstream of the source. On Thursday, Sept. 4, the samples had the following results.
Site A, about 60 meters upstream of discharge, had an E. coli concentration of 1,000 MPN per 100 ml. Site B, the discharge pipe, had 2,419,600 MPN per 100 ml; site C, about 60 meters downstream of discharge, 1,119,900; site D, Lilly Center standard sampling site, 435,200; and site E, the mouth of Cherry Creek at Winona Lake, had an E. coli concentration of 135,400 MPN per 100 ml.
The E. coli safety threshold set by the Indiana Department of Environmental Management for a one-time sample is 235 MPN per 100ml.
The Lilly Center immediately shared these results with local partners, including the town of Winona Lake and the Kosciusko County Health Department.
The town began tracing the drain to identify where the origin of the issue is. Techniques included sending a camera up the pipe as well as using tracing dye to confirm the source.
More information will be available at the town of Winona Lake Facebook page as more is known about this situation, the release states.
