“IF IT’S BROWN TURN AROUND”.
Yesterday, Wednesday, September 02, 2020, the South Fork of the Shenandoah River was transporting silt, sediment, debris, garbage, logs, and high levels of bacteria. After the North Fork and South Fork combined making the Main-stem of the Shenandoah River, the lower bacteria levels and less turbid waters in the North Fork helped to dilute the bacteria levels coming from the South Fork.
Previously in Virginia, if a single freshwater grab sample contained E. coli bacteria levels that exceeded 235 CFUs then the water would have been considered unsafe for primary recreational contact. Under the current Virginia Code for both the State Water Control Board and VA Dept. of Health, there is no longer any agency responsible to inform the public of potential exposure to elevated E. coli levels in the freshwater streams and rivers in Virginia! These are the E. coli results for the water samples collected yesterday, Wednesday, September 02, 2020.
FOSR 2020 Summer Quantitative E. coli Concentration Results through 09.02.2020