We took our fourth 2009 water samples Tuesday, July 14, at about 2 pm.

#1 Dock 41 cfu
#2 Cedar Fork Creek Not sampled
#3 Booker Creek 43 cfu

Caution level is individual reading above 400 cfu, or average above 200 cfu.

Lake water temp: 28.5C, 83F

The SECCI clarity reading was 24 inches.

This was follow-up on the results we got from last week’s sampling. The result is OK, there is no continued cause for concern. I saw no need to resample the tributary with a low bacterial level.

As I predicted, the counts have dropped to a level well below the caution threshold. It rained Sunday night and Monday. The protocol is to avoid testing after a rain event, but we were seeing another possible rain event later in the week and we did not want to miss our window for the timely follow-up test. Because of the rain, these readings are slightly higher than the actual levels of bacteria in the lake. Since the downstream reading was the higher one, we have an indication that normal flow has been reestablished with the recent rain. That means there is a normal “flushing” of water through the lake.

Rainfall brings benefits and detriments to our water quality. The benefits include dissolved oxygen, and the detriments include debris and surface contamination. In August we normally have less rainfall. The bacterial count does not usually rise much, and the water may become “clearer” and warmer. The darker and murkier water we see in the lake after rain is actually fresher. What makes it murky is solids in suspension as opposed to in solution, so sometimes the clearer looking water will discolor light-colored swimwear faster….

Chuck Henage
chenagemht@aol.com