We need your help!
Suggest your favorite swim hole in the Yough watershed for sampling this summer! We have received funds from The Pittsburgh Foundation’s Health and The Environmental Giving Circle to conduct water sampling at popular swimming locations during Summer 2014. We’ll be sampling in areas with high levels of contact recreation (swimming, wading, paddling) monthly from May through September for E. coli bacteria. The data we gather will be available on the Waterkeeper Swim Guide (www.theswimguide.org) to help people make informed decisions about where to safely recreate during the summer.
Here’s where you come in.
With assistance from our members and supporters, we plan to identify approximately 15 sites and sample them monthly from May to September, 2014. Do you have a site you’d like for us to sample? We’re looking for popular locations in the Pennsylvania portion of the Yough watershed (main stem and tributaries). If you have a suggestion, please leave it in the comments below or tweet it to @youghrvrkeeper with the hashtag #summerisforswimming!
What is E. coli?
Escherichia coli (commonly abbreviated E. coli) is a rod-shaped bacterium commonly found in the lower intestine of warm-blooded organisms including humans and animals. There are hundreds of strains of the bacterium Escherichia coli, however, one particular strain, O157:H7, is an emerging cause of foodborne and waterborne illness. water. Beaches and other designated swimming locations are tested regularly, but swimmers in non-designated areas (swimming holes, locations along the river) swim at their own risk.
Do you want to know if your favorite swimming hole is safe for swimming? Leave it in the comments below or tweet it to @youghrvrkeeper and we’ll consider it for sampling this summer! Contact Krissy for more information. Thanks!