The SRCC conducts water monitoring in the fresh water streams and the salt water estuary.
The purpose of the testing is to gather data about the quality of the water that will help us to track down and eliminate sources of pollution entering our drinking water supply and the water we use for direct-contact recreation.
By gathering this data we can see how and when the highest levels of pollution enter the river and determine how to curb or eliminate the sources.
We test for fecal bacteria, nitrates, dissolved oxygen, pH, temperature, and other parameters.
We took the samples at the same time of day on all test days, to see what effects the tide stages would have on the water quality. We also checked the temperature of the air and water.
The state fecal coliform standard for fresh water is 200 colonies per 100-mil sample.
The state enterococcus standard in salt water is 104 colonies per 100-mil sample.
We also conduct Multiple Antibiotic Resistance testing, which is very high tech water testing that can determine the species of origin of the bacteria.
The testing, which is 97.0% accurate for human source identification determined that a number of test site have human fecal bacteria presumably from leaking sewage lines.
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