CINCINNATI — A portion of Burnet Woods Park has been closed since Tuesday after another combined sewer overflow flooded the valley near the Trailside Nature Center over the weekend.
The overflows and subsequent E. Coli contamination have been the focus of several WCPO stories and repeated studies by students at the University of Cincinnati.
We reached out to UC researchers after this weekend's overflow and asked Professor Ken Petren whether he expected E. Coli would be present in the park on Monday without having to test the soil.
WATCH: Hear from park advocates about what solutions they'd like to see done
"Because there was an overflow this weekend, I would absolutely expect to find some E. Coli on the surface," Petren said.
The same day, a spokesperson for the Metropolitan Sewer District announced in a statement it would partner with the University of Cincinnati and officials with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to conduct a fall study in the park.
MSD said the study would focus on potential health risks at the park.
"The City remains committed to working together on long-term solutions that improve public safety and protect our natural spaces," the statement read.
On Tuesday, we visited the park again to speak with Burnet Woods Park Advisory Council President Lisa Haglund and found several signs in the valley reading "closed for your safety," with a temporary fence now blocking the path to the sewer grate responsible for the overflows.
Haglund was happy to see that additional testing would provide more insight into safety at the park, but urged the city to do everything possible to ensure it's safe for people to enjoy the park.
"Getting the poop out of the soil, if we can figure out how to do that, that will go a long way to reassure people it's OK to play in the valley," she said.
The signs were still in the valley near the nature center when we visited on Friday, but a family with children was playing just a few dozen yards from them, where flooding occurred over the weekend.
Haglund said a long-term solution, potentially additional storm water retention upstream, could help solve the E. Coli issue long-term.
"I don't think we're discovering anything supernatural, but it's worrisome for someone whose child is immunocompromised to pick up dirt and put it in their mouth, which little kids like to do."
Petren said UC would be available to help solve the problem.
"We're trying to help out as best we can," he said.
We reached out to the City of Cincinnati to see if Parks would play a role in solving the issue at Burnet Woods and were pointed to MSD as primarily responsible for the fix.
