Section of Mammoth Cave closed due to contamination
Elevated levels of fecal coliform and E. coli in the groundwater. Don’t know where it came from, but it’s definitely there. It probably has a wildlife source, although it really wouldn’t surprise me to find that it’s residual from human activity.
When groundwater is contaminated, that’s bad. That’s the source of the water we drink. Even more problematic is that we continue to contaminate it with illegal dumping, strip-mining, and agricultural runoff among other things. Fortunately, at the moment, it only causes an inconvenience to tourism at a national treasure. When it starts causing disease and fatality in our families, maybe then we’ll step back and examine how we really live our lives and at what cost.
Unfortunately, it may be too late by then.
