This is an update on data reported at our Nov 14 membership meeting:
During this month our project has collected 21 special samples, in addition to the 10 we regularly collect as part of the County PIC program. With these samples we were hoping to learn more about a trend that is often seen when fall rains arrive: harmful ‘spikes’ in fecal bacteria counts in streams and the Nooksack River. With lab results generally improving during other periods, this year the county and partners created a Fall Strategy to focus attention on prevention, in hopes of minimizing the historical impact. Unfortunately, our results, as well as those reported from collection sites in many other areas, seem to repeat that autumn trend – but we’ll keep working on it! This chart shows lab results & rainfall amounts; scroll down for some explanatory notes.
Notes: color code corresponds to relative impact on the standards shown; Marine results are from samples collected by WA State Health and must meet standards for shellfish consumption, which are more stringent than general standards shown here; the undisclosed ‘high’ result on 11/14 is being investigated further.
County’s Tenmile summary for the same period is available here.