Water Monitoring Archives - Coosa River Basin Initiative

Breaking Down the Facts About Microplastics

September 28, 2023

Advocacy, Blog Posts, Education, Restoration, Water Monitoring

Imagining a world without plastics may feel impossible considering what a staple they are in today’s society, yet their large scale production and use only dates back to the 1950s. Since then, their production has surpassed most other man-made materials. It has been estimated that between the 1950s and 2015, approximately 6300 million metric tons of plastic waste has been manufactured, 60% of which currently resides in landfills or the environment, including our water. While many people have heard about…

Why Test for E. coli? Here’s What You Need to Know…

August 2, 2023

Blog Posts, Lake Allatoona, Water Monitoring

Written by Courtnee Davenport Every year, from Memorial Day to Labor Day, CRBI sends out dedicated field techs to collect water samples from 30 boat ramps, public beaches, and rivers from Weiss Lake to Allatoona Lake for Swim Guide. The goal for collecting these samples is to find out how much E. coli is present in these popular recreational areas. In order to help our community better understand what E. coli is, where it comes from, and why it matters…

Rome News Tribune Article Covers Beginning Stages of CRBI’s PFAS chemical testing

March 17, 2023

Coverage, Water Monitoring

Rome News Tribune published an article that gives a great overview of CRBI’s plans for a multi-year study to determine the extent of PFAS contamination in Northwest Georgia and Northeast Alabama. While it is clear that many of the waterways in our watershed are contaminated by PFAS chemicals from upstream manufacturers, the extent of the contamination is yet to be verified. We will be collaborating with Coosa Riverkeeper in Alabama to test sites and Cyclopure, a company in California to…

EPA Releases New Health Advisories for PFAS in Drinking Water. What Does it Mean for Your Health?

June 29, 2022

Blog Posts, Water Monitoring

On June 15th, 2022 the EPA released new health advisories (HAs) for a chemical group known as PFAS. The EPA’s health advisories are used by municipalities as guidelines for how to keep our drinking water safe and free from harmful chemicals and contaminants. Using the most current scientific evidence, they make recommendations for the best ways municipalities can protect public health. The group of manufactured chemicals in question, PFAS, has been under scrutiny for a number of years as research…

CRBI, Harbin, Hardy Promote Safe Summer Recreation With the Launch of ‘Swim Guide’

May 24, 2022

Press Releases, Water Monitoring

Beginning Memorial Day weekend and running through Labor Day, CRBI will collect bacterial water samples at 30 popular recreation sites in the upper Coosa River basin. Weekly reports on E.coli levels will help everyone enjoying our waterways to stay informed while they stay active. This vast project expansion is made possible by the generous support of Harbin Clinic and Hardy Realty. “Spending time on our rivers provides ample benefits to our overall well-being,” explains Harbin Clinic psychologist and CRBI Board…

Connect with a Cause Through Citizen Science

August 6, 2020

Blog Posts, Education, Water Monitoring

By Courtnee Pope Hello, CRBI friends and family! My name is Courtnee Davenport and I am working as CRBI’s summer bacterial water sampling intern this year.I planted my roots in Romein the summer of 2004 when my family made our last Marine Corps duty station move. I was lucky to be able to see a lot of America in my young life as we travelled across country every two years or so. I give credit to those long car rides…