Water Quality Testing

 

The 2002 water quality testing program was concluded with a workshop held Thanksgiving weekend. At this time data sheets were reviewed and turned in to Dr. Schiefer for collation and inclusion in the 2002 Water Quality Monitoring report, which will be made available at our spring workshop in early May next year.

 

The raw data that I collected this year is quite different from that of last year and it is a most welcome difference. Our samplings over the entire 2001 season showed extremely high levels of total coliform at all of our test sites, although the levels of E. coli were within acceptable levels at most sites. The South Channel area was the only area in the Township of the Archipelago where these high levels of coliforms were found and only one area in the Township of Georgian Bay reported this phenomenon. At times, at every tested location in the South Channel area the water was deemed unfit for recreational use.

 

This year’s samplings appear to be markedly improved, in both the levels of E. coli found and that of total coliform. The Menomenee Channel – west end, Seven Mile/Nutter Bay, Kineras Bay, Redner Bay, Seven Mile Narrows, The Devil’s Elbow transfer station and Victoria Island/Parry Island testing stations all provided much improved results over last year, although the total coliform levels were still higher than we would like them to be. There was only one sample of all those taken at these sites that produced levels above this testing program’s acceptable level.

 

Although improved over those of the previous year the Sequin River mouth, Boyne River/Two mile Narrows, and the Mill Lake stations all provided unacceptable samples very high in both E. coli and total coliforms. The Mill Lake site is new this year. The Five Mile Bay/Squaw Channel station also produced unacceptable levels and it was the only one of our sites that showed an increase of E. coli over that last year.

 

Stan Topping