Arkansas Canoe Club Forums

Can someone update this April 2010 information on the level of bacteria that may be found in the river at the new Dallas whitewater park?

While researching the funding source for the whitewater park on the Trinity River in Dallas, I came across a newspaper article that discussed the amount of unhealthy bacteria in the river. Here's a quote:

The state has long deemed Dallas' stretch of the Trinity unsuitable for activities such as swimming, diving and water-skiing because of elevated bacteria levels that signal the presence of animal waste and human sewage. But Dallas officials say the water is fine for the $4 million whitewater park, just downstream of the Corinth Street bridge south of downtown.

End quote.

The full article link is:

http://www.dallasnews.com/news/communit ... n-3078.ece" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Captain Aleve, alias Mike Coogan

Recent studies have shown that bacteria in streams, etc. tend to adhere to the sediment. So the more suspended particles, the higher the count will probably be.

I had a conference call with the officials from the Watershed Management Department and a water quality expert from North Carolina yesterday. They provided me with some links to the info you requested. All you scientists out there should have fun. Bottom line is that the water in the Trinity is deemed fine for recreational use at levels of 2000 cfs or less. My understanding is that when you have higher flows due to flooding and runoff, the water quality does go down. But the true measure is how many reports of people getting sick from it. So far, there doesn't appear to be any data that shows an increase in sicknesses or illnesses caused by the river. But I'm not the expert, I'm just playing the messenger here. Hope this helps.

http://www.trinityra.org/downloads/Fina ... %20BSR.pdf" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

http://www.tceq.texas.gov/assets/public ... ctdata.pdf" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

http://www.tceq.texas.gov/waterquality/ ... query.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;