E coli Monitoring Program What is E coli? Escherichia coli (E. coli) is one of many species of bacteria living in the lower intestines of mammals. In the large intestine, some strains of E. Coli are actually helpful with waste processing, vitamin K production, and food absorption, while others can cause illness in humans. In rivers, E. Coli is a great indicator of the presence of fecal matter because humans, geese, dogs, deer etc. all pass on E. Coli inside their poop. If the presence of E. Coli exceeds a certain level than we must do more testing to investigate the source and test for harmful bacteria. High levels indicate swimming is not advisable; however, fishing is fine as bacteria harmful to humans are generally not the same as bacteria harmful to fish. Potential Fecal Sources: It is advisable to stay upstream and upwind of a city's sewer outfall, dog parks, areas where geese congregate, areas not fenced off from livestock, and marinas. While it is illegal for boats to dump their waste in rivers, it has been known to occur. How can I help? Disconnect your downspout and manage your stormwater on-site. Many houses in cities send their stormwater (from roofs and pavement) either directly to the river or to sewer systems that can be overwhelmed by floods and spill into the river. Create a zone of native plants between your property and the edge of a river or stream to reduce run-off. Plants love to absorb water and will slow-down run-off and will help soak up nutrients (aka fecal matter). Be a responsible river user. Use public restrooms, pack out your waste and at the very least bury it at least 200 ft. above the high water mark. Become a volunteer for Columbia Riverkeeper, contact Rachael@columbiariverkeeper.org or call 541-387-3030 How do we monitor for e coli? Columbia Riverkeeper volunteers monitor E. Coli every two weeks during the swim/surf season, unless a high E. Coli level occurs in which case we will increase monitoring to 5 x within 30 days. This is because E. Coli can be very variable and patchy, so the state standard is based on averaging results from 5 different E. Coli samples taken within 30 days. While we have the science to identify trends in E. Coli levels, we do not yet have methods to immediately tell people whether a site is contaminated or not. E. Coli is measured in Most Probable Numbers (MPN), which involves a 24 hour incubation process where E. Coli cultures are then estimated. Columbia Riverkeeper volunteers are trained by Oregon Dept. of Environmental Quality (DEQ) staff, and use DEQ equipment and the IDEXX QuantiTray 2000 analysis method. In Vancouver, Addy Labs provides us with equipment and analysis. All data is submitted to ODEQ and can be found on their online database as well at: http://deq12.deq.state.or.us/lasar2/ Results are then compared against standards developed by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and state environmental agencies. The EPA acceptable E coli standard for a single sample is 235 MPN/100mL which considers 8 in 1000 swimmers getting sick an acceptable amount. Vermont has the lowest state standard at 77 MPN/100mL which predicts that 4 in 1000 swimmers will become ill. Oregon's Standard for a single sample is the second highest in the country, 406 MPN/100mL and is based on the fact that there are no designated freshwater beaches yet in Oregon so the standard doesn't necessarily reflect what's best for swimmers. Columbia and Willamette Riverkeepers use the more conservative EPA standard to report our data in order to protect a greater number of river enthusiasts. Over time, we will compare our standards to EPA's Geometric Mean of 126 MPN/100 mL which says that E coli results averaged over time shouldn't exceed that amount. E coli monitoring results in Most Probable Number (MPN) per 100mL: There will generally be some level of E coli present, but a single result is considered safe if it does not exceed EPA's standard of 235 MPN/100mL. Two or more numbers in the table, means a duplicate sample was taken. YOUR BEST JUDGEMENT, NOT COLUMBIA RIVERKEEPER'S ASSESSMENT LEVELS, MUST BE USED TO DECIDE IF CONDITIONS ARE SAFE OR UNSAFE Date Mayer State Park, Rowena Koberg Beach, Hood River, OR Hood River Marina, OR The Outer Hook, Hood River, OR The Inner Hook, Hood River, OR Spring Creek Fish Hatchery, Underwood, Wa The Delta, Hood River OR Wintler Park, Vancouver, WA Frenchman's Bar, Vancouver, WA 8/7/07 3.1, 7.4 <1 and 0 4.1, 6.3 <1, 3.1 8/9/07 15, 22.6 32.3, 54.6 8/13/07 28.5, 29.9 8/16/07 8.4 9.8 9.7 7.3 3.1, 3.1 8/17/07 2, 2 8/19/07 16.9, 23.5 8/20/07 9.7, 13.2 20.3, 26.9 8/24/07 12, 13.1 8/27/07 2.0 2.0 4, 0 2, 2 2 15.5, 12.1 16.9, 17.1 8/29/07 2 0 0 4.1 2, 0 9/3/07 4.1 0 <1 55.6, 41.9 24.1 <1, 0 If you would like to add more sampling sites, then contact Rachael@columbiariverkeeper.org, 541-387-3030 to talk about volunteering. Cooperating Groups: Willlamette Riverkeeper, Addy Labs in Vancouver, Rosemere Neighborhood Association, Columbia Gorge Windsurfing Association, Surfrider Foundation/Portland Chapter, and Oregon Dept. of Environmental Quality have all helped to make this program possible.

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