There's something in the water in Franklin County and it's becoming a stinky situation.
"Can lead to fish kills, can lead to health problems for people,” said Allen Jackson.
Jackson works for Blue Ridge Soil and Water Conservation District. He says a recent EPA report found high levels of E.coli in rivers and streams all over Franklin County.
The Pigg River watershed was highlighted in the report. The report found some homes built before World War II still have what's called a "straight pipe" for waste water.
"It's a pipe that goes from the house into a local water source like rivers, so any types if waste water out of sinks, toilets, showers, anything just goes straight into nearby rivers,” said Jackson.
The other major culprit is faulty septic systems. Thanks to some grant money, the conservation is helping pay up to half of the cost to put in a new system, or fix a leaking one.
Want to know how to tell if your septic system is leaking into a local river? Well, Jackson says if you have a problem, you'll know because of the strong smell of sewage.
"Drains are draining rather slowly, they might be backing up into the house, you may have issues where you starting to see sewage above ground,” says Jackson of some of the other warning signs.
The conservation has $160,000 from the state to get the problem under control. Jackson says it's a big effort to keep the waterways clean in Southwest Virginia.
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