Black River at Cavendish Gorge

Certain bacteria, viruses and other microorganisms, can make you sick with stomach pains, rashes, breathing problems, diarrhea, or other intestinal problems. We test for the amount of E. coli in water which is an indicator for all types of other "bad guys." These numbers represent a risk threshold, or the chance that you might get sick if you came into contact with water with a concentration of these bacteria. If a person follows the guidance used at this website they will have less than 1% chance of contracting a water-borne disease.