When we purchased the Canteen we were very excited to have access to the Little River so we could share this jewel with the community. We also are very conscious of the need to keep the river protected so we looked at ways we could raise awareness of the river quality and educate “our community” on the importance of the river.
As a result, we joined the Mountaintrue water testing program for swimming areas. We take a sample from the river every Wednesday and take it to the Health Department in Brevard. Mountaintrue picks up the many samples from the area and grows them in their lab and posts the results of the water test by Thursday afternoon on SwimGuide.org.
Our first 2 results were PASS and for the first time since we purchased the Canteen we opened the river to our customers. We failed after that and were shocked. We never dreamed the Little River, this close to the headwaters would fail for e.coli. We were relieved to know and close the gate to the river when our e.coli levels become unhealthy.
It also makes us wonder where the pollution is coming from and what we can do to eliminate it. If you have thoughts or ideas, let us know. Let’s clean up the Little River so we can leave our gate to the river open for the community to enjoy.
