CRBI URGES LOCAL RIVER REVELERS TO BE MINDFUL OF HIGH BACTERIA LEVELS FOLLOWING HEAVY RAINFALL

The Greater Rome area has received a significant amount of rainfall during the past week. Jesse Demonbreun-Chapman, the Executive Director of the Coosa River Basin Initiative, urges people with plans to spend time on local rivers this weekend to be mindful of bacteria in the water. He indicates that bacterial levels often spike after a heavy downpour. The CRBI monitors the bacterial levels of local waterways regularly over the summer; weekly results are posted in the Rome News-Tribune.

Levels typically remain elevated for several days after heavy rainfall, asserts Demonbreun-Chapman, who says that you still can get into the water…just do not drink it.

The CRBI’s slate of guided paddle trips for 2021 will continue this Saturday with a paddle along the Oostanaula River near Calhoun (weather permitting). For more details, visit www.coosa.org.

A total of 2.83 inches of rain fell out at Rome’s Russell Regional Airport from early Tuesday morning through Thursday night, as indicated by the National Weather Service.