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The December results for Sound Rivers’ expanded year-round, water-quality testing are in.

“Once again, everything passed on the Tar-Pamlico, but the Neuse had a few sites fail,” said Clay Barber, Sound Rivers’ program director.

Slocum Creek in Havelock, Busco Beach in Goldsboro, Seven Springs boat access and the Neuse River boat ramp near Hideout all failed to meet state and federal recreational water-quality standards this week.

This scaled-down version of Swim Guide provides monthly water-quality results for 17 sites across the Neuse and Tar-Pamlico watersheds until the 2024 summer Swim Guide program starts. From Memorial Day to Labor Day, Sound Rivers tests more than 50 sites weekly, letting the public know where it’s safe to swim all summer long.

“We’re in the colder months, but people are still boating, kayaking, canoeing on our waterways.  That’s why we’re providing water-quality information all year ‘round now,” Barber said.

Sites are monitored for E. coli bacteria in freshwater and enterococci bacteria in brackish or salt water, both of which can cause an increased risk of gastrointestinal illness and skin infections in both humans and their pets. Sites are given a pass/fail designation based on federal and state water-quality standards.

Sites being tested monthly on the Neuse include Rolling View on Falls Lake; Buffaloe Road and Poole Road in Raleigh; Clayton River Walk; Busco Beach and the Neuse River boat ramp in Goldsboro; the boating access and Cliffs of the Neuse State Park’s swim area in Seven Springs; the N.C. Highway 11 boat ramp in Kinston; Lawson Creek in New Bern; Slocum Creek in Havelock; and the Midyette Street boat ramp in Oriental. Sites on the Tar-Pamlico are Stith-Talbert Park in Rocky Mount; Wildwood Park and Port Terminal in Greenville; and Havens Gardens and Pamlico Plantation in Washington.

Swim Guide sampling occurs on the last Thursday of each month, and results are posted the following day on the Sound Rivers website at soundrivers.org.

Based in Raleigh, New Bern and Washington, Sound Rivers has worked for more than 40 years to protect the health of the Neuse and Tar-Pamlico rivers and the communities that rely on them. The two watersheds cover nearly a quarter of North Carolina.

Sound Rivers’ Swim Guide program is sponsored by the Water Quality Fund in Memory of Gene Pate.