At a Glance:
What is it?
Bacteria testing program for public recreational beach areas on South River from May through Labor Day.
Why would we be interested?
Samples are collected on Wednesdays. Results will be posted on the web site by Friday - just in time for weekend swimming. If bacteria counts are high, you may decide not to play in the water that weekend.
How can our community sign up?
Decide if you would like samples collected every week or every other week and which beach area(s) you want tested. Then fill out the application and mail in your check for the appropriate cost.
2008 Test Results:
You can see the results here (begin May 30, 2008)
Program Details:
South River Federation is pleased to announce the official launch of OPERATION CLEARWATER-SOUTH RIVER, a water quality monitoring program to provide waterfront communities on the South River with regular updates of the microbial water quality at their waterfront recreational areas. This program is modeled on the successful and long-running program on the Severn River coordinated by the Severn River Association. The Federation will be working in partnership with the Severn River Association and Dr. Sally Hornor, AACC Professor of Microbiology, to provide timely public health information to participating communities and to help identify times when it may be inadvisable to swim.
OPERATION CLEARWATER monitors water quality by enumerating a group of bacteria collectively known at the enterococci. These bacteria, like the fecal coliforms counted in the past, are associated with fecal waste of warm-blooded animals, birds and mammals. These bacteria in themselves are not harmful to swimmers but they do indicate the presence of recent fecal contamination of water. When the number of enterococci exceeds 104/100 ml, there may be other microorganisms present in that water which could cause illness, such as gastroenteritis and ear infections. It is generally recommended by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency not to swim in water containing enterococci counts that have an average value exceeding 35/100 ml or a single sample result of more than 104/100. Thus counts that exceed 104/100 ml are highlighted in red on our web site. For more information about the EPA method and interpretation of results, visit this EPA document.
The counts of bacteria in water are always variable. The number of enterococci/100 ml will vary greatly depending on rainfall. Once we have received enough rain to cause substantial overland flow into our creeks and rivers, generally about one-half inch of rain, bacterial counts will tend to rise sharply and will remain high for 24-48 hours. This is especially true in areas where runoff flows down streets directly into creeks and rivers. For this reason, rain data are included in this report when we have had at least 0.5" of rain within the watershed 24-48 hours previous to sample collection. Of course, summer thunderstorms are notoriously spotty. As we measure rainfall in Annapolis, a brief but intense storm in Crownsville or Edgewater may not even be recorded.
Samples are collected on Wednesday mornings between 7 am and noon by at a location of your choosing at the community's waterfront facility. If you do not specify where to sample, Federation staff will use best professional judgment to sample the community swimming beach. Data are posted at the Federation web site by Friday morning. If the number of enterococci exceeds 104/100 ml, Operation Clearwater Community Representatives are notified promptly by phone or email.
A 14 week schedule costs $360 and runs from mid-May through August while a 7 week bimonthly schedule costs $185. This cost includes $25 per sample plus a one-time administrative charge of $10 for the South River Federation. Contact the Federation office at 410-224-3802 or email us for more information or to sign up for sampling. Click here for the application.
Click here to see previous year's bacteria testing data.
