Enterococcus (“Entero”) is a fecal indicating bacterium that lives in the intestines of humans and other warm-blooded animals.
Wallkill River
Citizen Testing Sites
Water Quality Conditions by Location
| Recent Samples | Historical Statistics | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Site Name (Watershed) | Sample Date |
[i]
Entero Count
|
[i]
4 Days Total Rain (in)
4 Days Total Rain (in)The combined rainfall for the day of sampling, prior day, two days prior and three days prior. More than 1/4 inch is considered a “wet weather sample.” |
[i]
Number of Samples
|
[i]
Geometric Mean Geometric MeanA measure of central tendency (a weighted average) used by NYS DEC and the US EPA to assess water quality. The geometric mean is defined as the nth root (where n is the number of samples) of the product of the Enterococcus measurements. A geometric mean over 30 fails the EPA criteria for safe primary contact. |
[i]
Maximum
MaximumThe highest Enterococcus count we have recorded at this site (“>” indicates an unknown number greater than this number and reflects the upper limit of our scoring ability for this sample). |
[i]
Minimum
MinimumThe lowest Enterococcus count we have recorded at this site (“<” indicates an unknown number less than this number and reflects the lower limit of our scoring ability for this sample). |
Individual Entero Counts by Site
Note: multiple counts of the same value will overlap and appear as one dot.
Water Quality*
*Single sample thresholds;
Enterococcus count per 100mL
Prior Four Day Rainfall
(in inches)
Geometric Mean*
*Weighted average of multiple
samples; Enterococcus count
per 100mL
The Wallkill River flows north from Sussex County, NJ into the Black Dirt Agricultural Region of Orange County, NY. The river channel is artificially straightened through that region, and then it resumes meandering near Goshen. From there it passes into Ulster County and follows the eastern side of the Shawangunk Ridge, eventually leading to New Paltz. The Wallkill River is dammed at several places, including in Rifton to form Sturgeon Pool, where Central Hudson Gas & Electric operates a hydroelectric power plant. Just downstream of the pool, the attenuated flow of the Wallkill joins Rondout Creek, which flows for approximately six more miles before emptying into the Hudson. Together, these two streams form the Hudson River Estuary’s largest tributary.
Read Riverkeeper’s 2021 data report for the Wallkill River Watershed.
SAMPLING PARTNERS
Wallkill site selection meeting
Riverkeeper partners with the Montgomery CAC, Gardiner ECC, Wallkill River Watershed Alliance, and community scientists throughout the watershed to collect samples.