Creek near campus tested high for fecal indicator bacteria from 2024-25, new study finds

Waller Creek is among 215 waterways and lakes that had potentially unsafe fecal indicator bacteria contamination levels on at least one monitored day, according to an Aug. 20 study from Environment Texas Research and Policy Center. 

The creek, located on 23rd Street, exceeded safe bacteria levels on 5 out of 9 testing days between 2024 and 2025, according to the Environment Texas study. North Boggy Creek, downstream of Manor Road, tested unsafe on 5 out of 7 days. According to the Environmental Protection Agency, while fecal bacteria indicators themselves are not usually harmful, they indicate possible unsafe or disease-causing bacteria. 

Stuart Riechler, an associate professor of practice in the College of Natural Sciences who is not speaking on behalf of the University, said that while it is good to take precautions, being near the creek itself is not something to be concerned about.

“Unless you’re planning to go swimming in Waller Creek, which I do not recommend, there are no real hazards to being near the creek,” Riechler said.

Environment Texas monitored 367 locations in total, and more than half had potentially unsafe levels at least a quarter of testing days, said Luke Metzger, Environment Texas executive director.

“That’s concerning because we know that millions of Americans get sick every year from swimming in polluted water, and can get ear and eye infections, gastrointestinal illnesses, rashes and other problems,” Metzger said. “And we think our waterways should be safe for swimming.”

There are multiple potential causes for this, Metzger said, including possible sewage leaks and canine feces. Metzger said that avoiding swimming after a storm, not swallowing water while swimming and keeping water away from open wounds can prevent illness.

Riechler helps run the Urban Ecosystems Freshman Research Initiative group. One of their projects focuses on human and dog fecal bacteria levels in water sources across Austin. In Waller Creek, there are not many obvious sources for the bacteria, but many houses have sewer lines along the creek, Riechler said.

“As best I know, (Austin Water is) diligent in identifying and repairing leaks in the sewer system,” Richler said. “What Austin Water doesn’t control are the connections from people’s houses to the city sewer system.” 

UT Engineers for a Sustainable World, a UT student organization, is also working at Waller Creek on a project for natural stormwater filtration.

“A lot of normal treatment plans, they use things like chlorine and ozone, but we don’t really want to do that,” said Benjamin McAllister, a sophomore environmental engineering major and a project lead for the organization. “We want to do it sustainably, and if we use plants, we want to use local plants to Texas and more local to Austin.”

While local cleanups and preventing littering can help the problem, improving waterway conditions will take a greater effort, Metzger said.

“If we’re ever going to get progress on this, our elected officials need to hear from people that this is a concern,” Metzger said.

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