Esatern Shawnee Tribe Warns Swimmers of Bacteria

The Joplin Globe, reported 07/17/2009, that the Easter Shawnee Tribe (Ottawa Co, OK) was urging swimmers to stay out of the water, due to elevated bacteria levels. Oklahoma has set a standard of 235 colonies on E coli bacteria per 100 milliliter of river water. Samples taken last week from Lost Creek near the Missouri-Oklahoma state line, showed 2,419 colonies, while a sample from Spring River at the Highway 10 Bridge in Ottawa County, showed 866 colonies.