Sample Site Recon Mission
Way to go Charleston! A number of you spotted Charleston Waterkeeper out on the water yesterday morning in the Lady C. We thought you might be wondering what we were up to. It’s not often we get to use words like reconnaissance and mission, but that’s exactly what Cyrus and Andrew were doing in the Charleston Harbor yesterday.
A while back we asked you to help us test our local waterways for fecal pollution. You responded. A little later we asked you to show us where you use our local waterways for activities like swimming and standup paddleboarding. You responded again.
We promised to test those areas for fecal pollution and publish the results so you could make an informed decision about where you get wet. To do that we’re building a water quality monitoring program. One of the first steps is sample site reconnaissance. That’s were we get out on the water and inspect areas you identified as potential sample sites.
A reconnaissance mission like yesterday helps us determine the logistics of sampling a particular area. Cyrus and Andrew made a visual inspection of potential sample sites, logged GPS coordinates, determined float time between sites, and practiced with bacteria sampling and chain of custody protocols. Check out photo gallery of our work on our Facebook page.
We are pleased to be moving forward with our water quality monitoring work. Stay tuned, we’ll update our progress here and on Facebook and Twitter. Also, keep an eye out in your local tidal creek. That’s where we’re headed for our next reconnaissance mission.
