The City of Austin is concerned about high levels of bacteria at Bull Creek District Park.
They say not enough people are picking up what their pets are
leaving behind.
That's creating a health hazard. But there's a new campaign aimed at pressuring pet owners to scoop their poop.
Louie can play frisbee, jump high in the air and heel to his
owner.
 |  |
 | |  |
| | | | | | | |
Dog Poop
The city is reminding dog owners to clean up after their pets or face a fine.
 
| | |
| | | | | |
|
But even the most well trained dog can't learn every trick.
"In Austin we estimate there are about a hundred thousand dogs in the city which means 50 thousand pounds of pet poop in one day," Kathy Shay with City of Austin Watershed Protection said.
If that's not enough to gross you out, recent water tests done at
Bull Creek Park show when dog owners don't clean up, all that
poop is going straight to the water.
"We're here to spread the word that we have seen some high
bacteria levels in this specific stretch where the off leash dog area is," Nancy McClintock, with City of Austin Watershed Protection said.
In some cases the tests came back more than two times the State Standard for Contact Recreation, mostly on the weekends when more dogs are out to play.
"Removing soil. Feces on their paws and then humans in and out of the water and in and out of the park," Mateo Scoggins with City of Austin Watershed Protection said.
Friday City officials met at Bull Creek Park to spread their
message.
"Our educational campaign out here really consists of adding more mutt mitt dispensers, we've got the signage that you see we'll have that right here in the off leash area," McClintock said.
Park police will be stepping up too, issuing warnings and tickets
if you decide to leave the park a little brown present.
It's a plan dog owners we talked to say they support.
"You don' t want to be walking around and step in it. It's just
courtesy," dog owner Erin Keigher said.
"It's something that needs to be done. It's a very simple thing, we
just all have to do a little bit to help out," dog owner Paul Sulinski said.
The city will retest the water in the next 8 weeks. They hope a
little humor and spreading the word can keep our parks clean and healthy.
Leaving pet poop behind is against City Code and pet owners
who don't clean up face a Class C misdemeanor which carries up to a 500 dollar fine.
