Coliforms in western and eastern lakes

[jack S]

On tuesday 5/12/09 Surfrider Foundation took water samples from eastern and western lakes near the outfalls where the children play on weekends. Here are the results;


Eastern Lake

Fecal coliforms/E. Coli. - 100/100 ml
Enterobacter - 3600/100 ml
Total coliform - 3700/100 ml

Western Lake

Fecal coliforms/E. coli - 0/100 ml
Enterobacter - 2500/100 ml
Total coliform - 2500/100 ml

Water Quality Standards from Walton County Health Department:



Fecal

0-200/100 ml ? good

200-399/100 ml ? moderate

400+/100 ml ? poor





Enterococcus (not Enterobacter)

0-34/100 ml ? good

35-104/100 ml ? moderate

105 +/100 ml ? poor



Link to EPA Bacterial Water Quality Standards:



http://www.epa.gov/waterscience/beaches/local/statreptac.pdf



From EPA, Total coliforms should be less than 2400 for any one sample.

 

[Bobby J]

Jack,

This is not good news as I am sitting here on the coach with Brody with a temp of 103.2. He has bilateral ear infections and was in Western Lake the day before he got sick! We all need to wake up!

 

[John]

That's nasty. It would be interesting to see how a sample from another part of the lake would look. Will this be an ongoing water quality monitoring project or was it a one shot project? If ongoing, let me know if you need any volunteers or such.

 

[Bobby J]

John,

I just got off the phone with Jack and hope he chimes in here. They did the test with Surfrider kits after a complaint from someone about a child getting sick after swimming in the lake. The county took no interest in the results.

 

[ItzKatzTime]

Jack,

This is not good news as I am sitting here on the coach with Brody with a temp of 103.2. He has bilateral ear infections and was in Western Lake the day before he got sick! We all need to wake up!

So sorry to hear about Brody. It's terrible when the little ones are that sick and ear infections are so painful.

My thoughts and prayers are with Brody.
Kat and Doug

 

[yippie]

The NW Florida Daily News use to publish the water quality ratings every Thursday in the paper. i watches as the Bay water got worse and worse.

Now, they have quit publishing it at all.

Does anyone know a website where we can get the local water quality readings?

 

[Franny]

I wonder if the county would show more interest if a caution sign mysteriously showed up at the lakes warning people of the poor conditions.
Bobby, I hope Brody feels better soon.

 

[Bobby J]

Brody seems to be a bit better today. Thanks. We are also not really sure how he got ear infections. Kids get infections. I just thought it was ironic he had been in the lake and Bev and I joked about it that very day. Not so funny the next day. It is concerning to me how year after year our water quality in the bay, lakes, and gulf continue to drop. We all seem like we are waiting for someone to do something about it. I am afraid we are the someone. People always compare our waters to other waters that are filthy and I guess it makes us all feel better because we know a place that is worse. If anyone wants to get involved contact www.surfrider.org or call me and I can tell you when our next meeting will be.

 

[Sand Angel]

We will be testing Eastern and Western Lakes again this weekend. Results should be ready to post by Tuesday or Wednesday. These tests take a couple of days to process.

Here is the link to Walton County Health Department's test results:

Beach Sampling Results

Note that warnings/advisories are not always posted for poor water quality results. If you are concerned, check the weekly results at the website above. These water samples are taken only from the gulf or bay at public accesses. The health department does not check the coastal dune lakes.

 

[dmarie]

On tuesday 5/12/09 Surfrider Foundation took water samples from eastern and western lakes near the outfalls where the children play on weekends. Here are the results;


Eastern Lake

Fecal coliforms/E. Coli. - 100/100 ml
Enterobacter - 3600/100 ml
Total coliform - 3700/100 ml

Western Lake

Fecal coliforms/E. coli - 0/100 ml
Enterobacter - 2500/100 ml
Total coliform - 2500/100 ml

Water Quality Standards from Walton County Health Department:



Fecal

0-200/100 ml ? good

200-399/100 ml ? moderate

400+/100 ml ? poor





Enterococcus (not Enterobacter)

0-34/100 ml ? good

35-104/100 ml ? moderate

105 +/100 ml ? poor


Am I reading this wrong? By the "key" these numbers look good to me. What am I missing here?