Only one site on the lower Neuse failed to meet recreational water-quality standards this week: Slocum Creek in Havelock.
The waterway has failed the Swim Guide test 11 out of 13 times since Memorial Day, leading to an investigation into the source of the pollution. Sound Rivers’ Neuse Riverkeeper Samantha Krop and Water Quality Specialist Taylor Register are working with the Town of Havelock to identify the cause of extremely elevated levels of E. coli in the water.
Elevated levels of fecal bacteria in the water can come with increased risk of gastrointestinal illness and skin infections for pets and humans alike. As the site tested on Slocum Creek is the only public access area to the waterway — a tributary of the Neuse River — the ongoing issue is concerning, according to Register.
The weekly testing is part of Swim Guide, an international water-quality program conducted locally by Sound Rivers, an environmental nonprofit based in Raleigh, New Bern and Washington whose mission is to keep North Carolina’s waterways fishable, swimmable and drinkable.
Each week, a team of Sound Rivers’ volunteers gathers water samples at 54 popular recreation sites from the Piedmont to the Pamlico Sound. Sound Rivers’ staff test samples for E. coli in fresh water and enterococci in salt water and pass/fail results are released to the public, providing an easy way to find out where it’s safe to swim.
Seventeen of the 54 sites are located in the lower Neuse River basin: Oak Bluff Road and Highway 11 boat ramp near Kinston; Core Creek Landing at Fort Barnwell; Cowpen Landing and Spring Garden boat ramps; Glenburnie Park, Town of Bridgeton Park, Black Beard Sailing Club on upper Broad Creek, Lawson Creek Park, River Bend kayak launch, Trent Woods and Brice’s Creek — all in or near New Bern; the East Street boat ramp in Pollocksville; Slocum Creek boat ramp in Havelock; Rice Creek off the Bay River; and the Midyette Street boat ramp and Sea Harbour Yacht Club at Pierce Creek in Oriental.
Sound Rivers’ Swim Guide program is sponsored by the Water-Quality Fund in memory of Gene Pate, Grady-White Boats, Public Radio East, Cummins, UNC Lenoir Health Care, the Albemarle-Pamlico National Estuary Program, Z. Smith Reynolds Foundation, UNC Pavel Molchanov Scholars, ECU SECU Public Fellows Internship Foundation, City of Greenville, Lake Royale Property Owners Association, Melinda Vann and David Silberstein, and Wendy and Tim Wilson.
To sign up for Swim Guide notifications, go to soundrivers.org/swimguide or text “SWIM” to 33222 for weekly water-quality text updates. For more information about Sound Rivers, visit soundrivers.org.
By Sound Rivers