Lake Samples

For over 50 years the
City of Columbia has been committed to providing public health services through its
Health Department.
These services prevent epidemics and the spread of disease, protect against environmental hazards, promote healthy behaviors, prevent injuries and illness, assure the quality and accessibility of health services and monitor the health of the population.

Water Quality of Local Lakes

During the summer months, water samples are collected from local natural bathing beaches. The Health Department's lab analyzes the water for fecal coliform and E. coli.

EPA Criteria for Freshwater Bathing (Full Body Contact) Recreational Water:

Based on a statistically sufficient number of samples (generally not less than 5 samples equally spaced over a 30-day period), the geometric mean of the indicated bacterial densities should not exceed one or the other of the following*:

Fecal coliform: 200 per 100 ml; or

E. coli: 126 per 100 ml

Water Analysis 2007

	per 100 ml	JULY	AUGUST	September	NOV
Cedar Lake	Fecal coliform	1	3
Cedar Lake	E. coli	1	31
Lake Cyrene	Fecal coliform	2	13
Lake Cyrene	E. coli	1	1
Fairview Lake	Fecal coliform	6	14
Fairview Lake	E. coli	5	5
Hillcreek Lake	Fecal coliform	114	4**
Hillcreek Lake	E. coli	3	53**
Hinkson Creek at Capen Park	Fecal coliform	172	262
Hinkson Creek at Capen Park	E. coli	59	36
E. Hulen Lake	Fecal coliform	5	125
E. Hulen Lake	E. coli per	33	5
W. Hulen Lake	Fecal coliform	5	7
W. Hulen Lake	E. coli	20	3
Katy Lake	Fecal coliform	64	TNTC	36
Katy Lake	E. coli	5	8	5
Nifong Lake	Fecal coliform	362	61
Nifong Lake	E. coli	230	7
Quarry Lake	Fecal coliform	0	3
Quarry Lake	E. coli	0	2
Queen Ann Lake	Fecal coliform	2	28
Queen Ann Lake	E. coli	4	200
Shalimar Gardens	Fecal coliform	50	52
Shalimar Gardens	E. coli	18	14
Twin Lakes (boating area)	Fecal coliform	62	24
Twin Lakes (boating area)	E. coli	75	24
Flat Branch at Stadium Crossing***	Fecal coliform				47
Flat Branch at Stadium Crossing***	E. coli				39
Woodrail Lake	Fecal coliform	7	7
Woodrail Lake	E. coli	3	0

	per 100 ml	8/14	8/21	8/28	9/6	9/11	9/18	9/25
Stephen's Lake	Fecal coliform	33	14	15	64	110	3	15
Stephen's Lake	E. coli	3	0	0	12	18	2	0
Twin Lakes (diving area)	Fecal coliform	8	X	X	X	X	X	X
Twin Lakes (diving area)	E. coli	0	X	X	X	X	X	X
Twin Lakes (shallow area)	Fecal coliform	31	X	X	X	X	X	X
Twin Lakes (shallow area)	E. coli	37	X	X	X	X	X	X

*Lake samples that exceed the recommended limits are re-sampled for three consecutive weeks.

**Resampled on 8/28

***Sampled due to citizen complaint

TNTC indicates Too Numerous To Count

~ indicates that the samplewas unable to be read due to the overgrowth of another organism.

X indicates that the area is closed for the season.

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