WRWA has been measuring bacteria levels in the River since 1991. The good news...the Westport River and its tributaries are much, much cleaner than they were ten years ago. Why?  Because WRWA has been working tirelessly with the Town and local property owners to clean up our waters; unfortunately there are still times when it isn't the best idea to go swimming or boating.  

Summary of WRWA Bacteria Testing in 2014

Bacteria levels can change by the day; each week's results refer only to the morning on which the samples were taken. So what's the diagnosis?  The primary message is that we continue to see elevated fecal coliform levels during wet weather events. Wet weather is defined as any day in which >0.1" of rain fell within the 48 hours preceding sample collection.

Bacteria levels are typically elevated during wet weather events, and good precautions to take include avoiding swimming right after a heavy rain. But during dry weather, bacteria levels are low enough that it's safe for swimming, boating and shellfishing (in approved areas). The big news is that 10 years ago this wasn't true.

How does fecal coliform bacteria get into streams and rivers?

Polluted water runoff from the land is the leading cause of water quality problems nationwide. Fecal material as well as other pollutants can be transported to waterways through runoff. How quickly they are transported partially depends on the type of land use. Non-developed lands including grasslands, forests and other vegetation tend to soak up rainfall, thereby increasing infiltration into the ground and reducing runoff to waterways. Developed lands such as streets, rooftops, sidewalks, parking lots, driveways, and other hard surfaces tend to create more impervious surfaces, and runoff increases. Lands that support domesticated animals, such as cattle, hogs, or horses, can also be a source of bacteria, particularly if animals enter the water for drinking or if heavy rains wash manure from the land into receiving waters.

Why test for fecal coliform bacteria?

Fecal coliforms are bacteria that live in the digestive tract of warm-blooded animals and are excreted via feces. In themselves, fecal coliforms generally do not pose a danger to people or animals but they indicate the presence of other disease-causing bacteria such as those that cause typhoid, dysentery, hepatitis, and cholera. Unlike fecal coliforms, disease causing organisms generally do not survive in the environment long enough to be detected in water. This makes their direct monitoring very complicated, expensive, and difficult. Consequently, scientists have turned to fecal coliforms as an indicator. The theory behind such a measurement follows that if a fecal contamination event is present, the source water could have been simultaneously contaminated by pathogens which can also exist in fecal material.

The presence of fecal contamination is an indicator that a potential health risk exists for individuals exposed to this water. Fecal coliform bacteria may occur in ambient water as a result of the overflow of domestic sewage or non-point sources of human and animal waste.

If high numbers of fecal coliform bacteria are found in a sample of stream water, one may conclude that there has been recent fecal contamination, although not necessarily human in origin. Other intestinal bacteria, such as streptococci or enterococci, may have a stronger correlation to human sewage, but no indicator has been identified that is exclusive to humans. The ratio of streptococci to fecal coliform was once thought to determine human versus animal fecal contamination. But, this is no longer thought to be reliable because streptococci do not persist long in an open water environment, making it difficult to assess true concentrations. Enterococcal bacteria seem to be consistently associated with human sewage and subsequent diseases, but testing for these organisms involves a lengthy and complicated procedure.

Despite the fact that they can not be linked directly to contamination by human sewage, fecal coliform bacteria counts are often used to regulate surface waters for recreational use, shellfishing, and potability (ability to be safely consumed). Federal regulations stipulate maximum allowable numbers of these bacteria for various uses. If fecal coliform counts are high (over 200 colonies per 100 ml of water sample) in the river or stream, there is a greater chance that pathogenic organisms are also present. A person swimming in such water has a greater chance of getting sick from swallowing disease-causing organisms, or from pathogens entering the body through cuts in skin, the nose, mouth, or the ears. Diseases and illnesses can be contracted in waters with high fecal coliform counts.

The Westport River Watershed Alliance hosted our 17th year of summer science programs. The sessions teach about the importance of the Westport River and all of the creatures that call the River home. This year we reached over 100 participants from ages 3-16. Participants had a chance to discover the plants of the dunes, local shellfish, flounder, puffer fish, squid and more throughout the 8 weeks of summer program sessions. We had a wonderful time sharing what we know about the Westport River Watershed and had a great time meeting all of our future stewards.

We send out a big thanks to the Westport Yacht Club for letting the summer programs use their indoor space during rainy days and Osprey Sea Kayak for leading our paddling programs. A sincere thanks for a great job goes out to our interns for the summer James Goodman and Brendan Cormier and to Adian Corey for volunteering. See everyone next summer.

Great news for those who like to know what happens at local municipal meetings.

You can watch Westport's municipal meetings on the internet by following this link:

http://westport.pegcentral.com/