Summer is officially here and Southeastern Vermont Watershed Alliance (SeVWA) had their first river sampling day on Wednesday, June 18, 2014. This year there are 26 river and stream sites being monitored by SeVWA. These sites are along the West, Williams, and Saxtons Rivers, as well as North Branch Brook, Rock River and the Whetstone Brook.
This year SeVWA has over 25 volunteers who graciously give their time by waking up early and heading into the rivers to collect water samples for testing. Volunteer involvement ensures that this program continues and we are incredibly thankful for all of their efforts. This first sampling day went smoothly with collection from all 26 sites and samples sent to the lab in a timely fashion. Testing for E. coli bacteria is time sensitive and requires the coordination of many people to be able to test all the different sites in Windham County, with an additional few sites in the village of Chester in Windsor County.
As the school year comes to an end and the days are getting warmer many people are heading to their favorite swimming holes. SeVWA has already received their first test results for E. coli, which are attached here. A thunderstorm and heavy rains swept through southeastern Vermont in the early morning hours before the first sampling day. Due to run-off from the surrounding landscape, like from polluted road run-off, agricultural activities or possibly failing septic systems, some sites experienced elevated E. coli levels above the EPA standard for swimming suitability. The presence of E. coli in the water indicates a likely fecal contamination by warm-blooded animals. Swimming in water with an E. coli level greater than 235 parts per 100 milliliters greatly increases the chance of exposure to fecal contamination and could subsequently result in sickness. A general rule for safety is to wait to swim in rivers for 24-48 hours after a rain event.
SeVWA’s water quality monitoring program will collect samples for testing every other Wednesday from June 18th through August 27th. E. coli results are usually available a couple of days after sampling. So far, we have been experiencing a lot of rain this spring and it will be interesting to see if this pattern persists through the summer.
Please post the attached E. coli results charts in your communities where swimmers and other recreational users of our local rivers will see them. Also, please submit the chart and this commentary to local news publication for posting/publishing and provide to your town’s conservation commission or other conservation-minded groups.
E. coli results and accompanying commentaries will appear at www.ibrattleboro.com (Nature section) every 2 weeks throughout the monitoring season. This monitoring program receives support from VT Department of Environmental Conservation (VT DEC), VT DEC LaRosa Environmental Lab, Connecticut River Watershed Council (CRWC) and SeVWA volunteers, members and donors. For more information about SeVWA’s monitoring program and other Connecticut River watershed water quality and recreational information, please visit www.ctriver.us.
This information is provided by SeVWA Water Quality Monitoring Program (sevwa.volunteer@gmail.com).
