This summer has already set records for water contamination in Vermont. An increase in outflow from strong, persistent rains has caused unprecedented amounts of bacteria and debris to flow through the state’s waterways.
On Aug. 8, the Addison County River Watch Collaborative found E. coli concentrations at Bartlett Falls in Bristol, DeMers Park in New Haven, and the Route 125 bridge at the bottom of the Middlebury Gorge in East Middlebury to not be in compliance with safety standards.
The ACRWC takes water samples once a month to make sure the water contains under 235 colonies per 100 milliliters of surface water, which is the health-based safety standard from the Vermont Department of Public Health.
Each sample site listed at least 1,500 colonies per 100 milliliters of water. This information shocked Matthew Witten, the director of the ACRWC.
“Those readings that we got were exceedingly high, extremely abnormal,” Witten said. “You normally get like 10, 20 colonies per milliliter.”
While there was reason for concern at those levels, Witten said it all has to do with when his group was taking the samples. At roughly 7 a.m. at each of the sample sites, it was raining. All of the fecal runoff that causes contamination was rushing into the water during the sampling period.
Witten said the numbers were so high because the river was still filling with contaminants.
“The flow of the river is still reacting to the rain, it's increasing, increasing, increasing,” Witten said. “Whereas if you get (the river) at its peak, or just after, the first big pulse of the pollution is most likely already downstream.”
While it is not easy to rule out unsafe or high levels of E. coli at this point, Witten said the rivers are probably safe once the storms pass and the water lowers and looks clear.
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