On Thursday 29 May, LJEA obtained water samples from the following locations in Lake James:
- Lake James State Park Catawba Swim Area,
- Linville Boat Ramp,
- North Fork Cove below the mouth of the North Fork, and
- Canal Bridge Boat Ramp
The samples were tested for E.coli concentrations. The Swim Area and Linville Boat Ramp sites had very low levels of E.coli. North Fork Cove had E.coli levels above the EPA Swim Advisory level and the Canal Bridge Boat Ramp had levels at 86% of the advisory level.
Samples also were collected from the tributaries at:
- Linville River upstream of NC Hwy 126,
- Mill Creek at Andrews Geyser,
- Mill Creek in Old Fort,
- Crooked Creek near its confluence with the Catawba River, and
- Catawba River at Greenlee Park.
None of these sites had E.coli levels above the advisory level. The highest, Catawba at Greenlee Park, had E.coli levels at 72% of the advisory level.
LJEA's Water Quality Monitoring Activity
We will continue bacteria monitoring throughout the summer to support the State Park and Catawba Riverkeeper's Swim Guide program. An LJEA intern is doing additional bacteria monitoring as a small research project. Beyond that, LJEA's Community Science Committee is following up on some of the sediment testing and have about a dozen additional stream assessments and macroinvertebrate sampling and analyses to complete. Of course, LJEA's monthly chemical sampling program continues.
