Mtn Watershed’s Weekly Swim Report: Ramcat Passes, Most Others Fail
The Mountain Watershed Association's weekly bacteria testing shows Ramcat Beach passed at 35.0 MPN heading into Memorial Day Weekend, while most other regional sites failed. Here is the full local rundown.
The Mountain Watershed Association posted its weekly Swimmable Waters results yesterday, and the news heading into Memorial Day Weekend is a mixed bag – with one bright spot for folks who like to cool off close to home.
Ramcat Beach passed, with a reading of 35.0 MPN. That is well under the 234.9 MPN threshold the association uses to mark a site as safe for swimming. (MPN stands for Most Probable Number of bacteria in a sample – the statistical method labs use to estimate viable microorganisms in water.) Smithton Beach also passed at 172.3 MPN, and Cedar Creek Park squeaked by at 201.4 MPN.
Most everywhere else failed.
The numbers tell the story: Indian Creek at Nebo Road came in at 1203.3 MPN. Meadow Run Natural Waterslides at 1413.6. Ohiopyle and Yough River Park both maxed out the test at greater than 2419.6 MPN. Markleton School Road Boat Launch at 396.8. Kings Covered Bridge at 285.1. Perryopolis Boat Launch at 1203.3. Cucumber Run Falls, Loop Take-Out, and Blue Hole in Forbes State Forest had no data this week.
The Mountain Watershed Association collects samples weekly from May through September and tests them to swimming standards. Each site gets a pass or fail rating until the next round of samples comes in. As the association noted on its Facebook post, the results are a snapshot – water quality changes constantly, and heavy rainfall causes runoff that increases bacteria in a waterway.
Their rule of thumb is worth repeating: if the water is brown, turn around.
For folks planning to get on the Yough or in the river this weekend, that is a sensible standard. Memorial Day Weekend is the unofficial start of the river season, and after the wet spring we have had up here, the creeks are running hard and carrying everything that washes off the ridges with them.
The full report, including testing methodology and a map of all sample sites, is at mtwatershed.com/swimmable-waters. The association updates results each week.
Thanks to the Mountain Watershed Association volunteers who haul sample bottles around the region every week so the rest of us know what we are getting into.
