If you’re planning on plunging into Lake LaVerne this weekend during the Veishea festivities, don’t worry about contamination from College Creek. The creek doesn’t even drain into the lake anymore.

That is just one of the questions that will be answered at a meeting Monday to discuss concerns about College Creek.

The city-sponsored meeting will be held at 6:30 p.m. at Edwards Elementary School, 3622 Woodland St. Officials from the Department of Natural Resources and the city of Ames will be on hand to answer questions.

Clare Bills, city public relations officer, said Ames City Council members called the meeting after receiving many calls concerning the creek after the contamination was first announced last month.

“There are citizens who want to know more about what’s being done,” Bills said.

She said she thinks the meeting will provide the answers citizens want.

One of the concerns with College Creek is that on some maps it appears to drain into Lake LaVerne, Bills said.

David Inyang, director of the ISU environmental health and safety department, said College Creek is no longer connected to Lake LaVerne.

“Several years back, it was re-routed,” Inyang said. “The two bodies of water do not mix.”

Jim Stricker, DNR field supervisor, said the reason for the meeting is to inform the public, specifically parents of young children who might play in the creek, that there is a danger of disease spreading, and children must wash their hands after playing in or around the creek.

“We don’t want the possibility of disease spreading,” said Stricker, who will attend the meeting. “Kids have a tendency to stick their hands in their mouths and aren’t as health-conscious.”

The creek is contaminated with high levels of fecal coliform bacteria that can carry such diseases as salmonella and shigella, which both affect the intestinal organs, Stricker said.

“We recognize this as a problem, and we want to take care of it, but it is going to take some time,” he said.

College Creek begins just outside Ames’ west city limits and is experiencing the excess of pollution near Daley Park and the Bentwood Subdivision, Bills said. The source of the contamination is believed to be three area mobile home parks and a restaurant.

Bills said she also wanted to emphasize at the public meeting that the water supply in Ames is safe.

“None of the water supply in Ames comes from the river,” she said. “Our water supply is absolutely safe.”