2011 Beach Watch Results Week 8

Save The River has received the test results for Week 8 (August 22nd) of the Beach Watch monitoring program. All beaches sampled on August 22nd “passed” but Wilson’s Beach was very near the failure threshold.

Week 8 Results (08-22-11)

Wilson’s Beach: PASS (read more on Wilson’s Beach below)

Potter’s Beach: PASS

Frink Dock: PASS

Round Island: No Sample

Lake of the Isles: PASS

Scenic View Park: PASS

Waddington Beach: No Sample

What do you mean Wilson’s Beach was near the failure threshold?

The New York State Department of Health considers water safe to swim in if there are less than 235 CFU’s (Colony Forming Units) of E.coli in a 100 mL sample. On August 22nd the sample taken at 3 feet at Wilson’s Beach had 209.8 CFU per 100 mL and the sample taken at 6 feet had 218.7 CFU per 100 mL. While it is unclear why Wilson’s Beach presented such a spike in E.coli levels for this testing week, there are certain factors that can contribute to such sharp changes in water quality. On both Sunday August 21st and Monday August 22nd there were periods of rain, with periods of heavy rain hitting the area on both days. Heavy periods of rain cause excess runoff and this runoff can increase the levels of E.coli in the water. Other factors that may have caused a spike in the E.coli level for that testing day include the presence of Cladophora algae at the beach and heavy beach usage on the days of Friday August 19th through Sunday August 21st.

About Beach Watch

The program provides a snapshot of water quality at popular swimming areas which are not monitored by other groups during the peak recreational swimming season. Our goal is to ascertain whether there is a health risk to swimmers from E.coli in the water. E. coli is a type of bacteria found in the intestines of animals, including humans, which in some instances is linked to human health concerns.

There are many potential sources for E.coli bacteria in swimming areas, including: improper sewage disposal, agricultural run-off, bird and animal waste and various other environmental factors.

Although the results cannot be used to conclusively say that a location is safe for swimming, Save The River advises beach goers to practice safe swimming habits to reduce the likelihood of acquiring bacteria related illnesses, such as rashes or gastrointestinal problems. When swimming, a few simple steps should be followed: choose swimming sites with good water circulation, never swallow swimming water and wash hands after swimming and before eating. If you are very young, very old or have a compromised immune system you are more susceptible to acquiring bacteria related illnesses.

Change in Beach Watch Program

To best serve the community and to compare Save The River water quality results with results from other state and federal agencies, Save The River has changed what type of bacteria they test for. In previous years, Save The River has tested water samples for Enterrococci bacteria but will now be testing for E.coli. Although Enterrococci bacteria are a type of E.coli, testing for E.coli broadens the range of bacteria that may be found.  As always, Save The River will continue to monitor the beaches throughout the summer and report on results and trends

Questions?

If you have any questions, concerns or would like more information on our Beach Watch program, please stop by the office or call, 315-686-2010.

2011 Beach Watch Results Week 7

Save The River has received the test results for Week 7 (August 15th) of the Beach Watch monitoring program. All beaches sampled on August 15th “passed”.

Week 7 Results (08-15-11)

Wilson Beach: PASS

Potter’s Beach: PASS

Frink Dock: PASS

Round Island: No Sample

Lake of the Isles: PASS

Scenic View Park: PASS

Waddington Beach: PASS

About Beach Watch

The program provides a snapshot of water quality at popular swimming areas which are not monitored by other groups during the peak recreational swimming season. Our goal is to ascertain whether there is a health risk to swimmers from E.coli in the water. E. coli is a type of bacteria found in the intestines of animals, including humans, which in some instances is linked to human health concerns.

There are many potential sources for E.coli bacteria in swimming areas, including: improper sewage disposal, agricultural run-off, bird and animal waste and various other environmental factors.

Although the results cannot be used to conclusively say that a location is safe for swimming, Save The River advises beach goers to practice safe swimming habits to reduce the likelihood of acquiring bacteria related illnesses, such as rashes or gastrointestinal problems. When swimming, a few simple steps should be followed: choose swimming sites with good water circulation, never swallow swimming water and wash hands after swimming and before eating. If you are very young, very old or have a compromised immune system you are more susceptible to acquiring bacteria related illnesses.

Change in Beach Watch Program

To best serve the community and to compare Save The River water quality results with results from other state and federal agencies, Save The River has changed what type of bacteria they test for. In previous years, Save The River has tested water samples for Enterrococci bacteria but will now be testing for E.coli. Although Enterrococci bacteria are a type of E.coli, testing for E.coli broadens the range of bacteria that may be found.  As always, Save The River will continue to monitor the beaches throughout the summer and report on results and trends

Questions?

If you have any questions, concerns or would like more information on our Beach Watch program, please stop by the office or call, 315-686-2010.

Save The River honored four area teachers with the annual Volunteer of the Year Award at the organization’s annual volunteer picnic on Thursday, August 4th at the Thousand Island Bridge Authority’s Rift Camp. The four teachers – Maria Mesires, Mary Bowman, Mary Ellen Carroll and Heather White – were recognized for their exceptional work developing the Save The River In The Schools Program.

Save The River’s Volunteer of the Year Award is given to volunteers who have consistently gone above and beyond the call of duty in their volunteer efforts and whose volunteer assistance has moved Save The River’s efforts to protect the St. Lawrence River forward in a significant way. All four teachers honored with the 2011 awards have provided key leadership and vision for the growth and development of the Save The River In The Schools program and have gone above and beyond to ensure its success.

Three years ago the Save The River In the Schools program, a partnership with local educators to build local, environmental knowledge in students along the St. Lawrence River, was launched. At the time, four dedicated teachers signed up for the pilot phase of the project. Maria Mesires, who teaches 7th grade science at Case Middle school in Watertown, Mary Bowman, who teaches 7th grade science at Thousand Islands Central Schools, Mary Ellen Carroll, who is a third grade teacher at Sherman Elementary in Watertown, and Heather White who teaches Kindergarten, also at Sherman Elementary in Watertown.

Since that time these four dedicated teachers have done more than design River focused curriculum and deliver it in their classrooms, they have also provided key planning and programmatic guidance to the program as it grew, and generously gave of their time and talent to see it succeed. Today, the Save The River In the Schools Program is reaching hundreds of North Country students in more than ten different school districts. This progress would not have been possible without the help of Mary, Maria, Mary Ellen and Heather.

Save The River’s annual Volunteer Picnic is an opportunity to thank the hundreds of River community members who provide thousands of hours of volunteer service in support of the organization’s advocacy, education and research programs. Volunteers assist with a variety of projects, from monitoring River health to stuffing envelopes and providing expertise on River policy issues.

“The time and expertise, often combined with hands-on labor, that volunteers provide is critical to the strength of Save The River’s efforts to protect the St. Lawrence River. Volunteers magnify the capacity of our small staff and our River protection programs,” stated Save The River’s Executive Director Jennifer Caddick. “We are thrilled to recognize this year’s recipients of the Volunteer of the Year Awards for their dedication and commitment to Save The River. We are a stronger organization thanks to their efforts.”

For more information on Save The River’s volunteer programs, visit our Get Involved webpages.

Almost ten years ago, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers began spending millions of taxpayer dollars studying proposals to physically expand the St. Lawrence Seaway to allow in much larger ships. Seaway expansion would require dredging hundreds of millions of cubic yards throughout the St. Lawrence River and the Great Lakes, removing portions of islands in narrow reaches of the St. Lawrence River, and replacing numerous locks to accommodate larger ships. This massive re-tooling proposal to enlarge Great Lake and St. Lawrence River shipping channels would destroy miles of fragile habitat, re-suspend polluted sediments and exacerbate the problem of invasive species coming into the Great Lake in ship ballast tanks.

The report – called the Great Lakes Navigation System Review – was met with fierce opposition across the Great Lakes basin. Hundreds of citizens spoke out against the plan at public hearings and submitted comments opposing further study of Seaway expansion. Hundreds of environmental and conservation groups weighed in demanding that expansion be removed as an option for the future of the St. Lawrence Seaway System.

Today – almost ten years later, the Corps has finally, formally removed these expansion options from the report, thereby removing the recommendation to further study the idea of Seaway expansion. This change signals a significant shift in direction, and an opportunity for the region to rally behind a healthy future for the Great Lakes and St. Lawrence River!

Visit Save The River’s Navigation Study page for more information. You can also read the full Supplement to the Great Lakes Navigation Study on the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers website.

Background

Fifty years ago, the St. Lawrence Seaway opened amid great fanfare and ringing predictions of economic growth in the Great Lakes and St. Lawrence River region. Unfortunately, these predictions went unfulfilled, while the introduction of invasive species from ocean going vessels to the fresh waters brought disastrous environmental consequences.

The Seaway operates well below its capacity, yet over the past 22 years citizens have had to repeatedly fight back expansion proposals that would seek to allow wider, longer, and deeper vessels to operate on the Great Lakes. Physical expansion would worsen the environmental impacts of the Seaway. Communities around the Great Lakes-St. Lawrence River have called on the governments of the United States and Canada to make it clear that expanding the Seaway is no longer an option.

Today, we also know that there are specific and tangible economic benefits linked to a healthy Great Lakes and St. Lawrence River. There is currently unprecedented momentum behind policies that will begin to restore the ecology of the Great Lakes and St. Lawrence River region, and it is essential that commercial navigation activities on the Seaway are reformed to make them consistent with these restoration goals.

In the latest iteration of the Great Lakes-St. Lawrence Seaway Study, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers has made a significant step forward by formally removing expansion from future planning for commercial navigation on the Lakes and River. This is a significant victory for communities around the region. We need your help to write the Corps and thank them for listening to and acting on community input.

For more information, download Save The River’s background fact sheet on the Great Lakes Navigation System Study.

Take Action!

Write the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and thank them for taking Seaway expansion off the table!

Find contact information and sample language below. Please call us with any questions, and thank you for speaking out for the protection of the St. Lawrence River!

Points to include in your Letter:

• Explain why the St. Lawrence River/Great Lakes is important to you.

• Support the Corps’ removal of Seaway expansion options in the Supplement to the Reconnaissance Study for the Great Lakes Navigation System Review.

• Urge the Corps to focus future study on reducing the existing, historic and future environmental impacts of commercial navigation on the resource.

• Thank the Corps for listening to the public and taking Seaway expansion off the table!

Send your comments by August 31st to the addresses below:

Project Manager

GLNS – Supplemental Recon.

U.S. Army Corps of Engineers

7th Floor

477 Michigan Avenue

Detroit, MI 48226

Thank you for speaking out on behalf of the health of the St. Lawrence River!

2011 Beach Watch Results Week 6

Save The River has received the test results for Week 6 (August 8th) of the Beach Watch monitoring program. All beaches sampled on August 8th “passed”.

Week 6 Results (08-08-11)

Wilson Beach: PASS

Potter’s Beach: PASS

Frink Dock: PASS

Round Island: PASS

Lake of the Isles: PASS

Scenic View Park: PASS

Waddington Beach: PASS

About Beach Watch

The program provides a snapshot of water quality at popular swimming areas which are not monitored by other groups during the peak recreational swimming season. Our goal is to ascertain whether there is a health risk to swimmers from E.coli in the water. E. coli is a type of bacteria found in the intestines of animals, including humans, which in some instances is linked to human health concerns.

There are many potential sources for E.coli bacteria in swimming areas, including: improper sewage disposal, agricultural run-off, bird and animal waste and various other environmental factors.

Although the results cannot be used to conclusively say that a location is safe for swimming, Save The River advises beach goers to practice safe swimming habits to reduce the likelihood of acquiring bacteria related illnesses, such as rashes or gastrointestinal problems. When swimming, a few simple steps should be followed: choose swimming sites with good water circulation, never swallow swimming water and wash hands after swimming and before eating. If you are very young, very old or have a compromised immune system you are more susceptible to acquiring bacteria related illnesses.

Change in Beach Watch Program

To best serve the community and to compare Save The River water quality results with results from other state and federal agencies, Save The River has changed what type of bacteria they test for. In previous years, Save The River has tested water samples for Enterrococci bacteria but will now be testing for E.coli. Although Enterrococci bacteria are a type of E.coli, testing for E.coli broadens the range of bacteria that may be found.  As always, Save The River will continue to monitor the beaches throughout the summer and report on results and trends

Questions?

If you have any questions, concerns or would like more information on our Beach Watch program, please stop by the office or call, 315-686-2010.

Save The River to Hold Riverkeeper Training Session August 17^th

Save The River will offer their second Riverkeeper training session of the summer on Wednesday, August 17th at 6 p.m. The training session will be held in the Antique Boat Museum’s Education Room and runs for one hour. Since the Riverkeeper Monitoring Program was developed in 2008, more than two hundred volunteers have been trained to be vigilant observers of the health of the St. Lawrence River.

At the Riverkeeper training session volunteers will learn how to spot signs of negative and positive change on the River, how to identify aquatic organisms, wildlife, and invasive species, how to recognize pollution problems, and how to effectively report on these issues. Volunteers will also be given a Riverkeeper Identification Guide and a free t-shirt.

Save The River works to protect and preserve the national and international waters of the St. Lawrence River between the areas of where Lake Ontario first meets the St. Lawrence River through to the Massena/Cornwall area. Riverkeeper volunteers are needed to help patrol the River, keeping an open eye for signs of change in the health of the St. Lawrence River and its surrounding ecosystem.

The Riverkeeper Monitoring Program is a wonderful way to become more acquainted with the River we already enjoy and to learn more about how to further protect it. To sign up for the training session please contact the Save The River office at 315-686-2010 or email Kayla Montanye at intern2@savetheriver.org .   Don’t miss out on the last Riverkeeper training session of the summer!

2011 Beach Watch Results Week 5

Save The River has received the test results for Week 5 (August 1) of the Beach Watch monitoring program. All beaches sampled on August 1st “passed”.

Week 5 Results (08-01-11)

Wilson Beach: PASS

Potter’s Beach: PASS

Frink Dock: PASS

Round Island: PASS

Lake of the Isles: PASS

Scenic View Park: PASS

Waddington Beach: PASS

About Beach Watch

The program provides a snapshot of water quality at popular swimming areas which are not monitored by other groups during the peak recreational swimming season. Our goal is to ascertain whether there is a health risk to swimmers from E.coli in the water. E. coli is a type of bacteria found in the intestines of animals, including humans, which in some instances is linked to human health concerns.

There are many potential sources for E.coli bacteria in swimming areas, including: improper sewage disposal, agricultural run-off, bird and animal waste and various other environmental factors.

Although the results cannot be used to conclusively say that a location is safe for swimming, Save The River advises beach goers to practice safe swimming habits to reduce the likelihood of acquiring bacteria related illnesses, such as rashes or gastrointestinal problems. When swimming, a few simple steps should be followed: choose swimming sites with good water circulation, never swallow swimming water and wash hands after swimming and before eating. If you are very young, very old or have a compromised immune system you are more susceptible to acquiring bacteria related illnesses.

Change in Beach Watch Program

To best serve the community and to compare Save The River water quality results with results from other state and federal agencies, Save The River has changed what type of bacteria they test for. In previous years, Save The River has tested water samples for Enterrococci bacteria but will now be testing for E.coli. Although Enterrococci bacteria are a type of E.coli, testing for E.coli broadens the range of bacteria that may be found.  As always, Save The River will continue to monitor the beaches throughout the summer and report on results and trends

Questions?

If you have any questions, concerns or would like more information on our Beach Watch program, please stop by the office or call, 315-686-2010.

In 1999, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers began a study to determine the feasibility of expanding the Seaway to accommodate movement of larger shipping vessels through the Seaway. (Visit our Navigation Study page for more background.)

The expansion of the Seaway would mean the destruction of miles of fragile habitat, re-suspension of polluted sediments and exacerbate the introduction of invasive species into the Great Lakes and St. Lawrence River.

Today – more than ten years later, the Corps finally, formally removed these expansion options from the report, thereby removing the recommendation to further study the idea of Seaway expansion. This change signals a significant shift in direction, and an opportunity for the region to rally behind a healthy future for the Great Lakes and St. Lawrence River!

Download our backgrounder – Seaway Expansion and the Great Lakes Navigation System Review – for more information on the history of the issue and a summary of the current report. Or, download the full U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Supplemental Reconnaissance Study.

Take Action

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers is holding a public comment period, which ends August 31, 2011. Download an action alert that includes details on how to submit comments to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.