June, 2023

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The inch or so of rain we had overnight on June 19th played a part increasing the E.coli levels in the results you see below.  We're glad we are not sampling today, June 24th, or the results would be nearly impossible to read!  When we do the lab work, we need to count colonies of E. coli in a petri dish. After a major rain event there can be hundreds of colonies and it really makes your eyes cross! Our results will be forwarded to the VA Dept. of Environmental Quality, and Headwaters Soil and Water Conservation District,as usual.

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E. coli results are based on the number of E. coli Colony Forming Units or CFU per 100 milliliters of water (approximately 3.4 ounces) – CFU/100ml

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Per current Virginia Department of Environmental Quality (VDEQ) standards, there is no longer a safe E. coli level based on a single water sample but this is now based on a 90-day period of analysis. The bottom line is that 410 CFU is considered the upper limit of safety based on that 90-day analysis. The math is a bit complicated in making the final determination of safety but if you want more details feel free to shoot us an email and we'll explain the changes further.

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Safe  – means the E. coli level is below the VDEQ Standard of 410 – water is safe for recreational use

Unsafe – means the E. coli level is above the VDEQ of 410 – water is unsafe for recreational use

 

Lower Middle River Watershed

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Below find the most recent readings. All readings are from bridges that cross Middle River:

Route 250 (Staunton)  967 Unsafe

Union Church Road (Staunton)   1034 Unsafe

Lebanon Church Road (Staunton)  334 Safe

Route 11 (Verona)  267 Safe

Windswept Road (Verona)  2266 Unsafe

Dam Town Road (Fort Defiance) 400 Safe

Cline Ridge Road (Grottoes)  467 Unsafe

Craig Shop Road (Weyers Cave) 567 Unsafe

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Lower Middle River complete data spreadsheet  HERE!

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Overview summary in graph form HERE!

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Results of High Frequency Monitoring  - DEQ/FOMR June-August 2022 HERE!

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Christians Creek Watershed

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FOMR ran a program to monitor E. coli at 12 sites along Christians Creek from July 2019 to June 2021.

 

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Read a summary of the data from this program HERE (Jul. 2019-June, 2021).

 

Upper Middle River Watershed

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FOMR ran a program to monitor E. coli at 16 sites along Upper Middle River from July 2015 to December 2020.

 

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Read a summary of the data from this program​ HERE  (Jul. 2015-Dec. 2020).