Yuck! I just read through an August 2010 report on impaired streams in Tennessee, and guess what I found? Escherichia coli, and lots of it in the Lower Tennessee River watershed. In Hamilton county alone, there are tens and tens of miles of creeks and streams with medium to high E. coli counts, some due to septic tank leakage, some due to livestock. Saint Lucia and other developing nations aren’t the only ones with poo in the water! Just keep that in mind if you’re ever out in a creek and thinking of drinking the water straight-up; there could be cows just upstream! And if you’re curious, you can check out the detailed PDF of water-quality-challenged Tennessee waterways here.