July 22 E.Coli Results

West River Watershed cfu/100 ml
Milkhouse Meadows 276
Dummerston Bridge 91
Newfane Swim Hole 69
Brookline Bridge 63
Ellen Ware Road 80
Scott Covered Bridge 154
Jamaica State Park 6
South Londonderry 435
Winhall Hollow Swim Hole 248
Pikes Falls 62
Jamaica Town Center 93
Flood Brook /Hapgood 51

Williams River
Rockingham Trestle 156
Bartonsville 260
Chester WWTF 387
Rainbow Rock 387

Saxtons River
Sandy Beach Results for E.coli Bacteria 435
Saxtons River WWTF 461
Saxtons River Town Center 291

Whetstone Brook
Behind CoOp 1200
Dettman Drive 225

The Vermont State Standard for safe contact recreation is 77 colony forming units per mililiter
(cfu/ml). Results highlighted in red are above this level. The EPA standard is 235 cfu / ml. Results highlighted in brown are above this level.

E.coli bacteria occurs naturally in the digestive tract of mammals and is commonly found in feces. Its presence in streams and rivers is an indication of a point or non-point source pollutant.
Commonly, E.coli gets into streams and rivers through storm-water runoff from urban and agricultural areas. Most strains of the bacteria are harmless, though some can cause upper - respiratory or intestinal infections. E.coli bacteria is primarliy used as as indicator of other disease causing organisms that are also transmitted through the digestive tracts of mammals, such as salmonella.

Please email the West River
Watershed Alliance at wrwa.vt@gmail.com
if you have any questions or concerns.

River Happenings

UPCOMING EVENTS: 

August 23rd – Landowner Workshop: Japanese Knotweed Control at the USACE North Springfield Lake in Perkinsville from 10:00 am to 12:00 pm. Contact Linda Schneider, ONRCD, at (802) 295-7942, ext.11 for more information. No cost.

September 20th – HELP Rivers Workshop: Rain Garden Design and Installation sponsored by WRWA and the Heritage Deli in Chester. The workshop will be a hands-on experience as we will review the design and complete installation of one of the first rain gardens in the county! The fun will begin at 9:00 am and end at 12:00 pm with a delicious lunch prepared by the Heritage to follow. Workshop cost is $10 with an additional $5 for those who would like to stay for lunch. Email westriver@vermontel.net to register.

September 24th – WRWA Annual Meeting & Silent Auction, location TBA, beginning at 6:30 pm . Please save the date for this annual evening of desserts, fun and interesting conversation. More details to come ... 

July 30th Results

Dear Friends and Volunteers of WRWA,

Please find the most recent water quality monitoring results for E.coli bacteria attached to this message. As always, I’m happy to help answer any questions you may have. 

The following are some notes, updates, reminders ... 

Please note that the results listed for the site “Saxtons River Center” are actually taken from Stickney Field which is approximately a half mile upstream from town. I will be correcting the name in the next posting – the site will be the same, but the name will change to reflect its actual location.

The sampling season is going to extend all of the way through the originally planned date of September 16th. Thanks so much to our dedicated Volunteer and Board Member, David Charis-Mink, for offering to drive the samples to Waterbury so we can conclude the season as planned.

NEWSLETTER HELP: We are in need of a volunteer to help assemble our newsletter. We have a series of articles that have been proofread and are are ready to go. If anyone has the time and energy for this project, please let us know by sending an email to wrwa.vt@gmail.com.

PICTURES WANTED: If you have any pictures of you and your family enjoying the great recreation opportunities our rivers have to offer please send them on to us at the above email address. Our intern, Aric Brown, is creating some new display materials and would love to include YOU in his great work.

GO TO: http://www.rutlandherald.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080726/NEWS04/807260348  to read a recent article in the Rutland Herald about some of our recent test results and why swimming holes typically are not posted by Town Health Officers when E.coli bacteria results exceed the state standard for safe recreation.