Big Canoe Creek Monitoring Project 

Our Big Canoe Creek Monitoring Project is designed to study water quality in the Big Canoe watershed that begins near Springville, flows through Ashville, and drain to Neely Henry Lake.

It is home to numerous threatened and endangered species, and is really popular for boating, swimming, fishing, and paddling. Through our Swim Guide program, however, we have detected water quality issues that could make it unsafe for recreation. This monitoring project aims to identify problem areas and seek solutions to improve water quality.

We will for five weeks to collect a geometric mean that will help us not only determine possible point-source and non-point sources of pollution, it will also allow us to determine if the creek’s current use classification best represents the creek’s use by the community.

A summary of each week’s data is listed below and correspond with icons on the map. NOTE: Some sampling sites and private property and not accessible to the public.

Swim Guide Lead Intern (Ryder, left) and Staff Riverkeeper (Frank, right) utilizing a YSI meter to read 6 water quality parameters on Big Canoe Creek.
DISCLAIMER
The information contained on this website is for informational purposes only. All sites monitored are natural waterbodies and contaminants are present from a wide variety of sources! Local conditions fluctuate, sometimes dramatically, and especially after rainfall events. The results displayed above are only representative of the exact time, date and location at which the sample was taken and do not represent the water quality between sampling events or at other locations nearby on the river. Users of this data should not assume that a “low” E. coli level means that it is necessarily safe or risk-free to make contact with the water. E. coli is not the only contaminant of concern for recreational users, and is used merely as an indicator of potential fecal contamination. Coosa Riverkeeper, Inc., their employees, and agents can provide no guarantee of water safety and, as such, the user assumes all risks associated with the use of this data and swimming in the Coosa River Basin. SWIM AT YOUR OWN RISK!