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Health and soil-and-water staff report modest E. coli improvement, plan microbial source tracking; Paydirt outreach shows strong engagement
Summary
Elkhart County Health reported modest E. coli improvements in sampled waterways and plans microbial source tracking; Soil & Water presenters reported elevated outreach metrics and more than 300 Paydirt attendees, with a field Paydirt scheduled Aug. 27.
Elise of the Elkhart County Health Department presented the county's 2025 water-sampling report and said that sampling of Weaver Ditch, Yellow Creek and Harristic Darkwood shows some improvement in E. coli counts but that more action is needed. Elise said the health department will conduct microbial source tracking — a DNA-based method — to determine whether elevated E. coli is coming from human, livestock or wildlife sources.
Commissioners acknowledged the work and accepted the report unanimously.
Soil and Water Conservation presenters followed with outreach metrics and an event recap. Presenters reported social-media impressions and interaction growth (examples cited: 30,000 views on social content, increased followers and engagement metrics), email outreach to 4,129 subscribers, web traffic and distribution of 5,000 printed stormwater calendars. Paydirt — an outreach event — drew over 300 unique attendees; 75 contractors were certified during a training tied to the event. Soil & Water said a field Paydirt event is planned for Aug. 27 at the Hess Family Farm.
Why it matters: The microbial source tracking will provide targeted data to guide remediation efforts; outreach and training metrics show community engagement and contractor certification that support local water-quality programs.
Attribution whitelist: Elise (Elkhart County Health Department); Todd Clark (Elkhart County Soil & Water); Soil & Water presenters.
