SeVWA’s 2015 E. coli Monitoring of Local River Sites Continued July 29th

The Southeastern Vermont Watershed Alliance (SeVWA) had its fourth monitoring day for the summer of 2015 on Wednesday, July 29th. Our sites on the Saxtons River and Sacketts Brook received significant rainfall in the day before sampling and 5 of our 27 sites tested above the recommended “suitability to swim” bacteria level set by Vermont and the EPA. It is generally recommended to wait 24-48 hours after a significant rainfall to resume swimming in lakes and streams, so keep that in mind when making weekend plans on the water. As the summer progresses you can use the charts we publish to make informed decisions about where it is safer to swim or boat based on which sites have high bacteria counts after rainfall or tend to always have high bacteria counts.

We are expecting great summer weather in the coming week which means many of you will be out on our rivers. Please be courteous to others and the environment by not littering (and picking up any litter you see left by others). And, of course, please be safe and have a lot of fun!

SeVWA’s water quality monitoring program is supported by SeVWA volunteers, members and donors, including Robert Fritz, Inc, Rock River Preservation, Elaine Lambert Living Trust, State of VT Department of Environmental Conservation’s LaRosa Environmental Testing Laboratory, & Connecticut River Watershed Council (CRWC).

E. coli results charts and accompanying commentaries will appear at www.ibrattleboro.com (Nature section) every 2 weeks through the monitoring season. For more information about SeVWA’s monitoring program sites and results and other Connecticut River watershed water quality and recreational information, please visit www.ctriver.us.

Thanks again for all you do to support SeVWA’s monitoring program and for your interest.

This information is provided by Ryan O’Donnell, SeVWA WQMP Coordinator and Chris
Yurek, SeVWA 2015 intern (sevwa.volunteer@gmail.com).

SeVWA
website – https://sites.google.com/site/vtsevwa/

Facebook
– https://www.facebook.com/SeVWA