McMINNVILLE, Tenn. -- E.coli, fecal matter, lead and other hazards have been found in a river where most of Warren County gets its drinking water.

There are no reports of anyone getting sick from water out of the tap.

Clay Lerch said he loves to cruise the Barren Fork River in his boat, but he said he won’t be going for a quick swim, because he believes the water is polluted and possibly toxic.

"This spring, we started having problems with our dogs getting sick. They would come down to the the river, later that day they would be throwing up and diarrhea," he said.

He said his dog Chester has been sick about six times in the past month and that his other dog, Patches, has also been ill.

Lerch said his vet believes the dogs were ill because of the water. Lerch also said the fish are dying.

"They were bleeding sores where the flesh was off the fish. It was all down the side of them, and we caught a ton of fish like that," he said.

Earlier in May, the state environmental office took samples of the water. The samples tested positive for a number of hazards including fecal matter, E.coli, nitrogen, ammonia, iron and lead.

Representatives from the Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation recognize that bacterial levels are high in the river, but they said that's not uncommon when urban and agricultural runoff dumps into a water source.

But there are also oil spots on the water’s surface.

"They keep wanting to blame cows, and the cows have been here forever and haven't ever had this kind of problem, so I don’t buy that story," Lerch said.

The river is a primary water source for McMinnville and most of Warren County.

The state said the water is treated and that there is no concern about the water that comes out of the tap, but Lerch said he still has his concerns.

"I went by town today. There was kids out swimming by the dam. I'm sure their parents don't know that there is E.coli and coliform in there, which is sewage," Lerch said.

The state has not issued a fish consumption advisory for the Barren Fork River, but it is doing additional tests to check for other potential hazards.