Half of the eight Richmond river stations the James River Association monitors were showing elevated levels of E. coli as of Friday.
Why it matters: If you’re planning to take a dip in the James during this rare dry and sunny week, you may want to wait — and then double-check river conditions before you go.
State of play: The James River Association collects river samples weekly in Richmond in summer and updates their map every Friday, the nonprofit’s riverkeeper Tom Dunlap tells Axios.
- Their latest batch of data shows high to extremely high levels of E. coli in the James from around Belle Isle through Rocketts Landing and Osborne Landing.
- The stats from the previous week showed elevated E. coli readings at all of their Richmond stations.
The big picture: The recent rain and Richmond’s 19th-century sewer system are to blame.
- The city’s sewer system combines stormwater with sewage, and filters it through Richmond’s wastewater treatment plant.
- But when it rains heavily — as it seems to have every other day this month — the treatment plant can become overwhelmed and the excess gets dumped into the James.
- What comes out is 90% stormwater and around 10% wastewater, which includes whatever was flushed down your toilet.
Reality check: Due to wildlife near the river, some amount of E. coli is always in the James, Dunlap says…