Ashland Creek and Bear Creek get clean scores; Talent’s Wagner Creek gets a D
By Frances Oyung
This summer, Rogue Riverkeeper, with the help of over a dozen volunteers, spent the summer collecting 140 samples from streams, rivers and reservoirs in the Rogue basin to monitor for E. coli bacteria — the measurable standard indicating safe water contact in Oregon. Rogue Riverkeeper shares our results on our Swim Guide for the public to know where it is safe to recreate. While there are other substances that can make water unsafe for swimming, such as harmful algal blooms, E. coli bacteria is what indicates fecal contamination, and thus, is the most likely source of water-borne illness.
Following a summer of sampling, Rogue Riverkeeper summarizes our results in a “report card.”
It’s great to see that many of our favorite recreation sites had low levels of bacteria in the summer. Standout locations for safe swimming continue to be the main stem of the Rogue in several locations, including the stretch from Gold Hill to the Grave Creek boat ramp, the West Fork of the Illinois River at Forks State Park, and the Applegate River at Cantrall-Buckley and Fish Hatchery parks. Also safe were Ashland Creek in Lithia Park and Grave Creek at the mouth. Even Evans Creek at Palmerton Park in the city of Rogue River, a location that has many locals taking a dip in the summer, had none of its 10 samples get close to exceeding the standard for safe water contact. That has not always been the case in past years.
Lost Creek Lake and Emigrant Lake had low levels of bacteria when sampled this summer. However, both had issues with harmful algal blooms and saw an advisory from the Oregon Health Authority in the early summer.
Sampling done by Rogue Riverkeeper and posted on Swim Guide measures only the incidence of E. coli bacteria, which is what Oregon uses as an indicator to determine that water is safe for contact. But other substances, like harmful algal blooms or other contaminants that can make water unsafe for swimming are not necessarily easy to identify and rarely monitored. Always use caution. If in doubt, humans and pets should stay out.
There are several locations in and around Ashland where Rogue Riverkeeper regularly takes samples in summer. We we also post the city of Ashland’s data, which the city shares with us.
- Emigrant Lake at Jackson County park swim beach
- Bear Creek at North Mountain Park
- Ashland Creek at the Granite Street Swimming Reservoir in Lithia Park (sampled by city of Ashland)
- Ashland Creek at the wading area near the children’s playground in Lithia Park (sampled by city of Ashland)
- Wagner Creek at Valley View Road
Report Card summary of Rogue Riverkeeper Swim Guide locations near Ashland:
| Location | Percent of samples that met standard | “Grade” | Results |
| Emigrant Lake at Jackson County Park swim beach | 100% | A | 9 of 9 samples passed |
| Bear Creek at North Mountain Park | 90% | A | 9 of 10 samples passed |
| Ashland Creek at Granite Street reservoir | 95% | A | 20 of 21 samples passed |
| Ashland Creek at Lithia Park playground | 100% | A | 21 of 21 samples passed |
| Wagner Creek at West Valley View Road | 60% | D | 6 of 10 samples passed |
While many of our waterways are often safe for swimming. Wagner Creek in Talent had several samples this summer that had high bacteria levels. While this smaller stream is not an established swimming site, it flows alongside residences and parks so it is easily accessible by residents. Wouldn’t it be nice if kids in Talent could play safely in their local stream?
Because Wagner Creek has both residential and agricultural land upstream, sources of bacteria could be either human or animals, wild or domestic. After we shared our Wagner Creek sampling results in Talent, several agencies stepped up with additional sampling upstream of town using Environmental DNA, or eDNA, analysis and found that most of the bacteria is human in origin (dumping or leaking septic systems, likely).
Rogue Riverkeeper will be pushing the agencies that have the authority to enforce clean water rules — the Oregon Department of Environmental Quality and Department of Agriculture — to follow next steps to reduce bacterial pollution in this stream.
To see the full 2025 Water Quality Report Card for the Rogue basin, including test results for sites outside of the Ashland area as well as more information about our Water Quality Monitoring Program, visit Rogue Riverkeeper’s website here.
KS Wild Side appears every month and features a staff member from KS Wild (kswild.org), a regional conservation organization based in Ashland. Frances Oyung is program manager for Rogue Riverkeeper, a program of KS Wild that works to protect, defend and restore clean water, native fish and healthy communities in the Rogue basin (rogueriverkeeper.org). Our work is supported by donations from individuals like you. Donate to support our work here.
