Fecal bacteria loading in rivers surrounding Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania is a major concern. Fecal bacteria loading was thought to come from the city’s approximate 290 combined sewer overflows during heavy precipitation events, which overload the waste water infrastructure. However, water samples taken upstream of the city of Pittsburgh have high levels of fecal coliform, suggesting that fecal bacteria loading is occurring upstream of Pittsburgh. Twenty-four water samples were taken from the Allegheny River at Parker, Pennsylvania by the United States Geological Survey; nine exceeded the USEPA limit of 126 CFU / 100 mL of fecal coliform. Fourteen additional water samples were taken upstream and downstream of Oil City, Pennsylvania on the Allegheny River. The Southside Marina was chosen for the downstream sample site, while the public boat ramp in President Township was chosen for the upstream sampling site. These fourteen samples were analyzed for Escherichia coli instead of fecal coliform following USEPA protocol. The fourteen samples were collected during a time span of seven weeks, and represent dry, mixed, and wet weather conditions. Nine of these samples violated the USEPA suggested standard of 126 CFU/100 mL for a single sample. Many samples that exceeded the USEPA limit correlated with heavy precipitation events either the day before or the day of the sampling, though not all samples that violated the USEPA limit correlated with heavy precipitation events. The President Township sampling demonstrates the importance to sample upstream of sites thought to be the source of bacteria to verify that the site is indeed the only source of pollution.