Swim advisory issued for Dog River, Fowl River and areas of Mobile Bay
MOBILE, Ala. (WKRG) — Residents are being warned not to swim in parts of Dog and Fowl Rivers and Mobile Bay because of elevated bacteria levels, a Mobile County Health Department release said.
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The release said the quality of swimming water on Dog River near the Alba Fishing and Hunting Club and on Fowl River near Highway 193 at the Pelican Reef Marina is poor.
Additionally, Mobile Bay at MayDay Park, Volanta Avenue, Fairhope Public Beach and Orange Street Pier and Weeks Bay at Camp Beckwith were deemed to have poor swimming water quality.
'Swimming in these areas might lead to an increased risk of illness,' the release said.
The Alabama Department of Public Health and the Alabama Department of Environmental Management are responsible for monitoring water quality and notifying residents through the bacteriological water quality monitoring and notification program, the release said.
'This program involves the routine collection of water samples from a total of 25 coastal recreational sites in Mobile and Baldwin counties,' the release said.
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During the summer, when use of those areas is higher, water samples are taken twice a week at the most visited sites and biweekly at the other sites, the release said. During cooler months, all sites are tested monthly, the release said.
According to the release, water is analyzed for enterococci bacteria, a bacteria found in the intestines of humans and other warm-blooded animals. 'High counts (of the bacteria) indicate the possibility that other disease-causing germs could be present in the water,' the release said.
'Bacterial concentrations in recreational waters can increase during and immediately following rainstorms due to overflowing sewage collection and treatment facilities, stormwater run-off, malfunctioning septic systems and agricultural run-off. No known sewage spills have occurred,' the release said.
The release said when monitoring results exceed EPA standards, the affected site is immediately retested. If the second test also shows higher amounts of the bacteria, then an advisory is issued, the release said.
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The locations will be tested again in the coming days, the release said. According to the release, the areas will continue to be monitored and the advisory will be lifted once bacteria values fall below the EPA's threshold of 104 enterococcus organisms per 100 milliliters of marine water.
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