Stream Testing

During the summer months county residents spend more time in local recreational waters such as streams and rivers. However, water in these swimming areas can contain harmful bacteria and parasites from human or animal waste and wastewater runoff. When a person swallows contaminated water they may become sick with a recreational water illness.

The most common recreational water illness is diarrhea, which is caused by swallowing water contaminated by E. coli, Shigella, Giardia or Cryptosporidium.

In order to provide swimmers with information on the quality of water in local swimming holes, we monitor select stream and river locations in Greene County for the presence of coliform bacteria. The total coliform count is an indication of fecal water contamination.

Samples will be collected from five area swimming locations weekly, between Memorial Day and Labor Day. Sites are selected based on their accessibility and the likelihood that people might come in contact with the water.

We use the Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA) established water quality criteria for monitoring bacteria. The standard specifies that no single water sample should have an E. coli count that exceeds 235 CFUs (colony forming units) per 100 ml of water.

The most current results are shown. "NA" indicates the site was not accessible for testing.

Site	Test Date	E. coli Level
Crighton Access on the James River	08/31/2010	47.1
Lake Springfield below the dam	08/31/2010	18.9
Little Sac River at Farm Road 125 south of Hwy O	08/31/2010	114.5
Wilson Creek at Farm Road 123 and Farm Road 146	08/31/2010	410.6