Despite the torrential rains over the weekend, the sites had surprisingly low readings, except for Heritage Harbour, which had an uncharacteristically high reading at 140 cfu/100 ml. Pine Whiff remains high. Please be aware that it is forecasted to rain this weekend, which may flush more bacteria into the water.
On Wednesday, June 3rd, South River Federation staff collected water samples at the locations listed on the chart. Feces from geese and dogs, as well as leaky septic tanks are the top contributors to high bacteria results. The acceptable concentration of Enterococci bacteria for swimming and other direct water contact is less than 104 (cfu) colony forming units/100ml. Anne Arundel County has a 48 hour no swimming/recreational guidance of water ways after a rain event.
Have a safe and wonderful weekend,
Jesse Iliff, South Riverkeeper
South River Federation, Edgewater, MD
