We took our second 2009 water samples Wednesday, June 3, at about 11 am. The results were excellent!

#1 Dock 3 cfu
#2 Cedar Fork Creek 4 cfu
#3 Booker Creek 6 cfu

Caution level is individual reading above 400 cfu, or average above 200 cfu.

Lake water temp: 27C 81.5F at the dock, 28C 83F at the Cedar Fork Creek forebay, and 28.5C 83F in the Booker Creek inlet arm.

The SECCI clarity reading was 46 inches. This is twice the depth of last month’s reading. It is the clearest the lake has been since 2002, before our last lake restoration!

There was 0.8 (4/5) inch of water in the rain gauge on the morning of the test..

This is a good example of how the appearance of the water does not predict the bacterial levels. Our CFU counts are slightly higher than they were last month (the difference is probably within range of a sampling error). These results continue to be well below our own averages, and two orders of magnitude below the threshold of concern.

I have fielded a couple of inquiries in the past week about how safe is it to swim in the lake after several days of rain? I also got reports that there has been some “dark debris” and “fuzzy bubbles”. Whatever that was, it has passed out of our system completely. There was no evidence of anything but beautiful clear water anywhere on the day of the test.

Here is an excerpt of my reply:
“If the count is elevated several days after a rain, then we should be concerned. Right after a rain, it is normal for the count to be elevated, & we’re not supposed to test then. You can’t see the bacteria, it doesn’t make the water cloudy or yucky.

To address your specific question, usually the beach area is pretty safe after rain. Bacteria laden rainwater enters at the two forebays, and immediately begins diluting. The Coliform bacteria we test for does not grow or multiply in the water. By the time the water gets to the beach area the counts are usually low.

However, our tests, even the good ones, don’t guarantee it (is) OK. There’s a lot of stuff we don’t test and 3-4 samplings a year are not very critical. This time of year we usually get our first pulse of the algae bloom/die off, and that puts debris and “fuzzy bubbles” in the water. There can always be other unpleasant junk in rainwater that could get to the beach area.

If it looks bad, stay out. If it looks OK, stay near the beach and the docks for two or three days after the last rain.”

Conditions change when you are getting regular, intermittent heavy rain like we have been lately: The first rain after a dry spell soaks into parched ground, so we don’t get as much runoff as normal. After we restored the lake and closed the dam, there was a drought. When the rains finally came, what should have filled the lake did not because our watershed had become a dry sponge. When the watershed is normally hydrated, then the first new rains produce the runoff that flushes bacteria from animal waste downstream. That is the normal situation for “first rain” and it applied to the questions I got. The fact that our counts are up slightly now is a confirmation of this. Subsequent rains, like we are getting this week, should bring in less bacteria. The first rains in a “rainy spell” wash the ground and flush the accumulated waste into the creeks and streams. The following rains in the cycle are the “rinse water” and they only carry what has accumulated between the rains, usually very little.

Things to watch for now, and report here if you notice anything: Sewer overflows, dead animals. The areas of greatest concern are North and Northwest of the lake, up to about 3 miles.

I had my 4 year old grandson Ivan helping for the second test in a row. He helped with the boat and was trying to spot fish in the clear water. When we were leaving, we noticed goose wing with feathers and a large exposed bone lying on the ground. When I dropped the samples at the lab, someone had brought in a large turtle from another lake in the area. A lab worker who fancied himself a turtle expert said that if we find a goose wing, it is usually the work of a snapping turtle, they grab the goose from below the water, and usually don’t eat the wings. I have not seen any turtles in the lake this year but have noticed many in past years. I don’t think I had considered they might be snappers! Mentioned in the same conversation: A headless goose is the work of a hawk.

I have seen foxes near the lake in the last couple of months, and I saw a Coyote near Phillips Middle School last week

Chuck Henage
chenagemht@aol.com