Now that the heavy rains are leaving our area, many people may be tempted to go out and play or swim in some of those flood waters in Northeast Ohio.
As a meteorologist, that makes me cringe.
Over the years, you've probably heard me use the phrase 'flood water is Mother Nature's overflowing toilet.'
To prove that, I want to Verify whether or not its safe to play or swim in flood waters.
We decided to go to the experts at the Northeast Ohio Regional Sewer District. They do daily testing of Lake Erie's beaches for water quality.
Since we're talking about swimming and playing, we'll use the 'Recreation Water Quality' standards, measuring the amount of E. coli in the water with counts expressed as MPN (Most Probable Number) per 100 milliliters.
The Ohio Safety Standard is 235 MPN/100ml
We had four test samples done in Canal Fulton. Here were the results:
- Cherry Street 958
- Tuscarawas Street 2260
- Brenner Road 748
- Warwick Drive 548
We also had a sample taken in Clinton on North Street and it measured 1060, while 14th Street in Barberton had a staggering number of 26,130, more than 100 times the allowable safety standard of E. coli. in the water.
So is it safe to swim or play in flood water? Absolutely not. And that's verified.