YOUR DESCRIPTION HAS REACHED THE LIMIT OF CHARACTERS ALLOWED AND WAS CUT. A News 13 investigation uncovers harmful levels of E-coli and fecal coliform in our rivers and streams and even the French Broad River. Even more disturbing, Buncombe County health officials have chosen not to warn the public about this.

Swimming in a river with high levels of E-coli can make you very sick. If these areas were posted with a warning, people would know to stay out of the water. But we found that's not the case, so if you take a dip you may find yourself 'up a creek'. For some people straight-piping their sewage into a stream is an easy way to save some money. One Madison County resident tells us, "It's the cheapest form of septic removal."

Hartwell Carson and Kirby Callaway are the French Broad Riverkeepers and work with the Western North Carolina Alliance (WNCA). Carson says straight-piping is costly to the environment but some people would rather save money by not connecting to a sewer system, "If they don't think anyone's looking or cares then what's the motivation?"

Callaway echoes those concerns, "They don't think this stream is going to take the pollution anywhere." Each week, Callaway leads a group of volunteers to test local streams and creeks. She says, "We like to spread out and try to sample all the really small streams that probably DENR isn't going to be sampling." Most every small stream and creek in Western North Carolina eventually leads to the French Broad, carrying with it any contaminants, including raw sewage. Carson stresses the importance of keeping the river clean, "Over a million people drink out of the French Broad River, one way or another."

Every 2 years, DENR is required to monitor about 25% of the French Broad River

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WLOS ABC 13 News serves the Asheville, NC area and the rest of western North Carolina and Upstate South Carolina. We keep our audience informed through local news, weather forecasts, traffic updates, notices of community events, sports and entertainment programming since 1954.

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