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Officials told of high E. coli counts at Wilson Pond; volunteers and staff plan faster retesting
Summary
A volunteer tester told West Swanzey officials that routine VLAP sampling recorded elevated E. coli counts at Wilson Pond, prompting requests for faster lab turnaround, additional samples and possible warning signage; town staff agreed to coordinate follow-up testing and notifications.
A volunteer with the town’s VLAP (Volunteer Lake Assessment Program) told town officials that August 14 testing at Wilson Pond returned unusually high E. coli counts and urged faster follow-up testing and possible public warnings.
The volunteer said state guidance for E. coli “presence” is in the 400 range and that some samples from the pond showed readings as high as 2,400 at the cold end. The volunteer added that the standard for designated swimming areas is 88 and that one swimming-area sample returned 245. “It’s 1 day…we should throw some more tests in there to find out whether this is a real problem or not,” the volunteer said, noting the need to identify whether sewage is entering the pond and, if so, from where.
Town staff and meeting participants discussed laboratory turnaround times and options for quicker testing. The volunteer said they had taken another sample that day; those results would take three to four weeks at the lab handling routine state testing but could be faster through a private lab such as Nelson Labs, which volunteers said can turn results around in one to two days. The volunteer suggested collectors could bring samples by boat to a private lab and asked the town to take a leadership role in testing and public notification.
A town staff member agreed the town would assist and said staff could begin coordinating resampling as soon as the next day. The volunteer asked that future lab reports be sent directly to the town; the volunteer said they had worked with the report sender to add the town staff member’s email so both the volunteer and town will receive results going forward.
The volunteer also noted that dogs are prohibited at the boat launch under a town ordinance and emphasized protecting users of the water. Town staff said they would look into quicker sampling options, coordinate with the volunteer and with Stefan (a staff contact named in the discussion), and consider signage if follow-up results confirm a public-health risk.
Town officials did not take a formal vote during the discussion; staff indicated they would pursue faster sampling, ensure reports are routed to town staff, and notify the board when new results arrive.
