The advisory will remain in effect until water test results meet acceptable standards for enterococci. The county waits 48 hours after significant rainfall to do testing since that could skew results, Pringle said. That test will be postponed if the Annapolis area receives at least half an inch of rain over the weekend. The county plans to test water at Sherwood Forest Pier again on Monday.
Signs urging residents not to swim at the pier have also placed been throughout Sherwood Forest, a century-old community that includes more than 330 homes, the Sherwood Forest Club and a summer camp that is no longer in session. Possible reasons for the increase include run-off from recent rains, waterfowl waste or changes caused by tidal flows. The county does not yet know what caused the high enterococci count at Sherwood Forest, Pringle said, but environmental experts are unaware of any sewage leaks. Less than a week later, 50,000 fish, mainly Atlantic menhaden, were found dead near the headwaters of Marley Creek. The county also issued warnings in June, a broken sewer pipe spewed 10,800 gallons of sewage into a tributary of Marley Creek in Glen Burnie. It comes less than two months after most navigable Anne Arundel County waters officially became a federal no-discharge zone, making it illegal for boats to dump untreated sewage. The Sherwood Forest warning is the first no-swimming advisory issued as a result of routine testing this summer. The county tests more than 80 water access points on a weekly or bi-weekly basis and posts the results online. The county always takes a second sample before issuing an advisory, Pringle said. Get all the top news and sports from the. Get your morning news in your e-mail inbox. Environmental Protection Agency describes enterococci as, “bacteria that live in the intestinal tracts of warm-blooded animals, including humans, and therefore indicate possible contamination of streams and rivers by fecal waste.”
“Our counts have been so good all summer long,” she said.Īnne Arundel Community College’s Operation Clearwater also tested water at Sherwood Forest this week, Sieglein pointed out, and that test came back at 2.Īt nearby Sherwood Forest Beach, on the south side of Brewer Point, the bacteria level was at 1 on Monday, according to the county’s Recreational Water Report.
“Potentially, it could be harmful to people,” Pringle said.īut Susan Sieglein, a spokesperson for the Sherwood Forest Club, said residents have reason to believe the county’s test is not accurate, citing contradictory data from another testing source.
The EPA acceptable limit for the bacteria is 104. The measurement represents colony forming units of enterococci per 100 milliliters of water. Heath department spokesperson Megan Pringle said both a routine weekly test taken on Monday and a follow-up sample taken Wednesday found abnormally high levels of enterococci at Sherwood Forest Pier. The public health advisory issued Friday cautions against “swimming, kayaking, paddleboarding and other direct water contact” at a private, gated community north of Annapolis. The Anne Arundel Health Department is urging residents to avoid contact with the Severn River near Sherwood Forest Pier due to high bacteria levels.
0 kommentar(er)
