WAKE COUNTY, N.C. — If you like spending time on the water, specifically in the Neuse and Tar-Pamlico watersheds, chances are you have access to free water quality results.
Between Memorial Day and Labor Day, the nonprofit Sound Rivers tests dozens of popular recreation spots for bacteria. It’s all compiled into an online swim guide and one riverkeeper for the organization believes it’s crucial people have access to this kind of information.
“We believe that it's everyone's right to know what's in the water that they swim in, that they recreate on, that they fish in, that they come into contact with in their day to day,” Sam Krop, the Neuse riverkeeper for Sound Rivers, said. “There are some problematic locations that we see failing again and again. And of course, on the flip side, there's cleaner locations that we see being consistently cleaned again and again.”
Sound Rivers staff, including Krop, and dozens of volunteers take weekly water samples across 54 popular recreation sites testing for specific bacteria.
“E. coli in our freshwater places and enterococci in our more saltier places, and both of those are strong indicators of fecal contamination that could be from human sources, and it could also be from animal sources,” Krop said. “In terms of time of the year, we can consistently say that after a significant rain event is when we see the highest levels of E. coli contamination in our waterways.”
Krop says contaminated water can cause a variety of health concerns.
“From skin rashes to gastrointestinal issues and challenges for folks with immune disorders,” Krop said.
She says other government agencies test water quality, but it’s hard to cover every spot, and that’s where they come in.
“We’re part of a national swim guide program. And so we fill in those gaps where our government agencies are unable to. And we basically make sure that we visit places that people love to recreate in,” Krop said.
Results are available online and through text alerts. Sound Rivers is also working to put signs with QR codes at all tested sites, making it even easier to access results.
“It’s everyone's right to know what's in their waterways and make informed decisions about how to and when to interact with their surface waters,” Krop said.
This past year was the first that Sound Rivers was also able to do year-round testing at a handful of sites.
If you happen to come into contact with contaminated water, Krop says you should thoroughly wash yourself, avoid putting that water near any open wounds and monitor symptoms you may experience in the following days.
In addition to the Sound Rivers Swim Guide, there are water quality results for areas across the state on the Waterkeepers Carolina website.
