Rock River remains a dangerous place

Janesville Gazette

...The county health department will monitor contamination levels in the lake and river each Monday to assess contamination levels, Banwell said.

The department measures E. coli, a bacteria naturally occurring in the human digestive tract. It uses E. coli because it’s easy to measure and gives a good indication of other types of bacteria, which can be more difficult to measure, Banwell said.

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...The Rock County Sheriff’s Office is encouraging boaters to stay off the water.

All of the public access points to county waters are closed, Lt. Todd Christiansen said. They’ll stay that way until after the water recedes below flood stage. Even after the water comes down, slow/no wake ordinances will remain in effect until authorities feel it’s safe for wakes to hit the shores without eroding them further.

Christiansen said the waterways themselves aren’t shut down, but boaters trying to use them won’t have a place to launch or land their boats because of the closed landings.