These are the E. coli results for the water samples collected on Wednesday June 05, 2024 as part of Friends of the Shenandoah River (FOSR) Summer E. coli Testing Program at public access locations on the Main-stem, South Fork, and North Fork of the Shenandoah River. On this day, 4 out of 16 of the sites tested exceeded the threshold limit of 235 E. coli CFU/100 mL utilized by FOSR for primary recreational activities in freshwater streams and rivers. Prior to October 2019, Virginia’s water quality standard for freshwater beach advisories or closures was a single sample maximum of 235 E. coli CFU/100 ml of sample. Virginia no longer has a single, instantaneous, sample maximum threshold for E. coli for primary recreational contact in freshwaters.
After 3 consecutive weeks of elevated E. coli readings at the FPHCTL Hawksbill Creek site located in the Town of Luray we have decided to also test at a site upstream next week. The purpose for doing this will be to attempt to isolate potential cause(s) of the repeated abundance of E. coli at this site.