Bull Creek Dog Park May Be On-Leash This September

austinparks.org

If every dog has its day, then that day is Sept. 8 for the free-roaming Fidos at Bull Creek District Park. Blaming unsafe levels of E. coli bacteria in the unleashed dogs’ fecal waste, the city proposed yesterday to make Bull Creek an on-leash park this September.

“From a public health perspective, elevated E. coli levels in recreational waters pose an increased risk for illness for both people and their dogs,” said David Lurie, director of the Austin/Travis County Health and Human Services Department, in the press release. The city found that allowing dogs off-leash causes owners to consistently ignore their pets’ less-than-savory droppings. Two years of tests show that on weekends, when Bull Creek Park is visited the most, creek bacteria levels spiked to eight times the normal rate. "Our goal is prevention and we'll continue to monitor and evaluate bacteria levels throughout this process to minimize the risk of illness,” Lurie said.

Bull Creek District Park is one of the Austin's twelve off-leash dog parks. In addition to leash laws, the city proposed to close the park from October to April to restore the park’s soil, vegetation and irrigation, and said they planned to search out additional off-leash areas so that they may be regulated before park closure is necessary. The city will brief the Environmental Board on Aug. 19, the Parks Board on Aug. 25, and hold a public hearing in late August.

“We are also looking at alternative sites for our furry friends and continuing to maintain Austin’s quality of life for our citizens,” Parks and Recreation Director Sara Hensley said.

Contact the author of this article or email tips@austinist.com with further questions, comments or tips.

By Lisa Gartner in News on August 5, 2009 12:39 PM 0 Comments

Comments [rss]

marine

this on leash policy wont help with the sanitation at the bull creek dog park, if a person is irresponsible, they wont care if their dog is on/off leash when they poop. having said that the park will be flooded by hispanics who are afraid of/dont like dogs because in mexico most dogs are strays and are dangerous( if you dont believe me or you think im racist, go somewhere where a lot mexicans gather and observe for yourself), it was a great idea to remove the bbq grills from the park because idiots were cooking food AT A DOG PARK! if the park is on leash, we will see an immediate increase in the ammount of tagging that we see on the walls there, yes it will also become a soccer field where hispanics will frown upon the presence of dogs. use brentwood park as an example ! do you really want to bring the ghetto types to the bull creek area? do you want to have your cars broken into while your enjoying yourself there? think about it? pretty soon were going to have to have a permanent police presence there, mark my words, the thugs will come and they are definately anti dog ! if you leash it-they will come ! that is all !

Scott

Anyone who thinks dogs actually poop in the water obviously doesn't own a dog. They won't even pee in the water. They'll splash around for a while, but when they're ready to poop or pee, they look for a spot that's high and dry.

That means any poop ending up in the water gets there when it rains, which means a) it's been sitting out for a while first, b) only a small portion of it is ending up running directly into the creek rather than into the ground, and c) it's getting significantly diluted by rainwater.

I have a very, very hard time believing that poop from OLA dogs is really the major cause behind water quality levels in Bull Creek. Should be easy enough to tell though -- just compare samples from above the OLA area and below. Have they done that? I haven't seen published results, and I'd like to before taking away this great off-leash recreation area.

RonB

OG2 - thanks for the update on the sewage spill. That is a fact absent from the information on the city's page and IMHO an irresponsible omission.

originalguy2

Some *Irresponsible* dog owners don't pick up after their dog, just like some *irresponsible* people litter. The park would have less poop and trash if no one was allowed to go there at all, but it hardly seems equitable or reasonable.

RonB

As a pet owner I certainly see both sides of this argument. I mean, I love to have aquatic areas to take my dog. But at the same time, I want to be mindful of people and creating a dangerous/disgusting environment.

In the end, pet owners have to be responsible for their pets and make sure they do clean up after them, I do with my dog.

originalguy2

Of course the primary cause of the elevated fecal E. coli levels is dog waste and not the *raw sewage leak* upstream:

http://www.cityofaustin.org/watershed/bullcreek_update.htm

AsherBaruch

"The city found that allowing dogs off-leash causes owners to consistently ignore their pets’ less-than-savory droppings."

So the City is telling us that they spent money on a study that proves dog owners don't pick up their dogs' shit?

Yeah. Right.

kenneth1

It should be "on-leash" permanently. There is absolutely no reason to have large dogs roaming unteathered & unsupervised where kids are playing/swimming.

Of course, I say that as a curmudgeon who hates both puppies and children. I also hate motherhood, apple pie and Jesus.

elvislives

The water in that stream is pretty rotten. I think I've actually seen E-coli bobbing up and down as it made it's way towards the pool/pond area. Something about watching dogs take a dump in the water next to babies sitting and playing in the stream (likely with poop in their diapers) - all of which is upstream from the rope swing where kids swim and play in waterfalls - is really disgusting. Its about as close to Third World water quality as I ever want to experience. I hope the time off helps the park (and water) be less nasty.

Interesting to see how far Bull Creek has come (fallen?) since it was a Private Park in the 1950's.

http://austinparks.wordpress.com/2009/07/29/the-old-days-at-bull-creek-district-park/