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Kurt

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I thought CBA was already doing this, although more testing is not a bad thing. It's pretty well known, and has been shown over the years that Western Lake has detectable levels after heavy rain, because of lakeside septic tanks. If you avoid that scenario you should be OK but it's nice to be sure I suppose.

I thought CBA was already doing this, although more testing is not a bad thing. It&#039;s pretty well known, and has been shown over the years that Western Lake has detectable levels after heavy rain, because of lakeside septic tanks. If you avoid that scenario you should be OK but it&#039;s nice to be sure I suppose.

Smiling JOe

SoWal Expert

Jack, that is good to hear. Lake Watch, administered through CBA has volunteers who test each Coastal Dune Lake, once a month. Currently, they do not test for poo in the water, though it has been discussed in the past. I can put you in touch with their coordinator and you can see what level of interest they would have in conducting the tests on all of the coastal dune lakes, or maybe just those with septic tanks nearby. No need in duplicating work, and having volunteers who are out there regularly might be good. The only problem with once a month testing is that the poo in the water typically only shows up after the heavy rains which increase the water level on the lakes, which put the drain fields for some septic tanks under water. Ideally, testing would be done immediately and often after the heavy rains, until the poo no longer shows up in the sampling.  Send me a pm if you want to get the contact info for the CBA Coordinator.

jack S

Beach Lover

SJ, At the last CBA meeting, our representative was encouraged to do this testing. It is my understanding that no one tests for poo! The CBA supports our efforts. We just want to make sure the water is safe for the people who use it.

I was just thinking that it might be easier to conduct the tests, if the people who are already out there, were doing it. That's all. As I said, there are problems with the effectiveness of testing only once per month, so keep on keepin on.

I was just thinking that it might be easier to conduct the tests, if the people who are already out there, were doing it. That&#039;s all. As I said, there are problems with the effectiveness of testing only once per month, so keep on keepin on.

northshore

Beach Comber

That is great to know. We are out there on a regular basis...kids and all. Thanks!

Sand Angel

SJ, I am helping Surfrider with their coliforms testing, and I have been in touch with CBA, CDLAB, LakeWatch, and other local interest groups regarding testing.  In a perfect world, the health department would conduct these tests weekly on all of the public swimming areas at coastal dune lakes, but that is an expensive endeavor for them to undertake.  Surfrider has not established a sampling protocol (once per month) yet.  We simply did a couple of preliminary samples at two of the heavily used lakes to see what kind of results we came up with.  We will be watching rain events, water temperatures, etc. to determine future testing protocols, but tests will be done only on lakes with public accesses.  Other lakes, not so accessible to the public, may be added if homeowner groups or CBA or LakeWatch would like to pay a minimal price for testing (cost of supplies).  We are currently doing our own lab work in order to make this testing affordable, and if we find a problem, we will contact the health department to follow up and/or send samples out to another lab.  We will also be providing our data to CBA and LakeWatch.  Although these samples could be pulled by CBA volunteers, they must be collected in sterile containers and by particular methods to avoid contamination of the sample, and they must be processed very quickly.  Having Surfrider volunteers collect the samples allows us to be responsible for the collection methods and also gives us more flexibility to collect samples quickly afer a big rain event, for example, and to get samples processed quickly.  Ultimately, we're just trying to help out, and CBA was happy to have a group that could do the coliform testing.  It has been on their wish list for a while, but it is rather expensive to have a commercial lab run the tests, and their budget is limited.  We would appreciate any input on potential problem locations, sampling protocol, etc.  Send me a PM with any info that may be helpful to us.  Thanks!

SJ, I am helping Surfrider with their coliforms testing, and I have been in touch with CBA, CDLAB, LakeWatch, and other local interest groups regarding testing.  In a perfect world, the health department would conduct these tests weekly on all of the public swimming areas at coastal dune lakes, but that is an expensive endeavor for them to undertake.  Surfrider has not established a sampling protocol (once per month) yet.  We simply did a couple of preliminary samples at two of the heavily used lakes to see what kind of results we came up with.  We will be watching rain events, water temperatures, etc. to determine future testing protocols, but tests will be done only on lakes with public accesses.  Other lakes, not so accessible to the public, may be added if homeowner groups or CBA or LakeWatch would like to pay a minimal price for testing (cost of supplies).  We are currently doing our own lab work in order to make this testing affordable, and if we find a problem, we will contact the health department to follow up and/or send samples out to another lab.  We will also be providing our data to CBA and LakeWatch.  Although these samples could be pulled by CBA volunteers, they must be collected in sterile containers and by particular methods to avoid contamination of the sample, and they must be processed very quickly.  Having Surfrider volunteers collect the samples allows us to be responsible for the collection methods and also gives us more flexibility to collect samples quickly afer a big rain event, for example, and to get samples processed quickly.  Ultimately, we&#039;re just trying to help out, and CBA was happy to have a group that could do the coliform testing.  It has been on their wish list for a while, but it is rather expensive to have a commercial lab run the tests, and their budget is limited.  We would appreciate any input on potential problem locations, sampling protocol, etc.  Send me a PM with any info that may be helpful to us.  Thanks!

Good stuff!  At some CBA/LakeWatch workshops, poo seepage into the lakes was a topic of discussion, but as you note, LakeWatch volunteers are on their lakes only once per month collecting water samples and data, and it is up to each individual tester as to when they pull their samples, so it wouldn't be useful info, really. 

My understanding of reading plats is that all of the coastal lakes have public accesses, but they just aren't heavily used or well-known. However, I agree that starting with the outflow area of Eastern and Western Lakes is probably the best place to start, due to the large numbers of people in the water around those areas.

Good stuff!  At some CBA/LakeWatch workshops, poo seepage into the lakes was a topic of discussion, but as you note, LakeWatch volunteers are on their lakes only once per month collecting water samples and data, and it is up to each individual tester as to when they pull their samples, so it wouldn&#039;t be useful info, really. <br />
<br />
My understanding of reading plats is that all of the coastal lakes have public accesses, but they just aren&#039;t heavily used or well-known. However, I agree that starting with the outflow area of Eastern and Western Lakes is probably the best place to start, due to the large numbers of people in the water around those areas.

With more people using Stand up paddle as an activity in the dune lakes, surfrider foundation has decided to start testing the dune lakes for fecal coliform. It is late in the season so we started with eastern and western lakes. All you water babes will be happy to know that both lakes test negative for fecal coliform! So get out there!

Water Testing, Surfrider.

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