E. coli Contamination of Stony Creek, Mill Creek, and the Northern Fork of the Shenandoah

Abstract

Water is amongst the most vital natural resources, so the growing rate of antimicrobial Escherichia coli (E. coli) contamination of water sources around the world is quite unsettling, as the contaminated water can be a vehicle for the E. coli to enter the body and make people sick. Contamination typically originates from fecal sources, agricultural runoff, stormwater runoff, and various other agricultural sources (Odonkor and Addo, 2018). Stony Creek, Mill Creek, and the Northern Fork of the Shenandoah are listed as impaired for E. coli contamination, which poses issues for the population that uses them recreationally for activities such as swimming or kayaking (Brannan et al, 2006). As such, mitigating contamination in these water systems is of great importance. We want to develop and implement a strategy to help return these water systems to their communities, where we determine their uses in the community, trace the points of contamination, and analyze previous mitigation strategies to develop a plan for these particular systems. We expect to find that agricultural runoff is the largest source of contamination for Stony Creek, Mill Creek, and the North Fork of the Shenandoah. If all goes to plan and we get E. coli levels below the 126 units/100ml average E. coli level, the communities will be able to safely use these water sources, improving the health of the area and the ecosystem (Virginia Administrative Code, 2019).