2017 Cypress Creek Bacterial Source Tracking
The Meadows Center for Water and the Environment is conducting a 3-month Bacterial Source Tracking (BST) study from August 2017 through October 2017 to determine the source(s) of elevated E. coli bacteria discovered in Cypress Creek near downtown Wimberley, TX. The BST sampling events will include one wet weather event and two events under dry conditions. For that reason, tentative sample dates include Aug. 7, Sept. 12 and Oct. 16.
Figure 1 shows the sample locations for the 2017 BST study. Site #1 is located on Cypress Creek 0.33 miles upstream of the RR12 bridge. We selected Site #1 to provide data on upstream E. coli sources with minimal potential impact from septic systems or other bacteria sources in the downtown Wimberley area. Site #2 is located on Cypress Creek 0.10 miles downstream of the RR12 bridge. We selected Site #2 to provide data on Cypress Creek E. coli sources including the downtown Wimberley area.
The Meadows Center will collect duplicate samples from each site in sterile bottles to be immediately transported on ice to the Texas A&M University Soil and Aquatic Microbiology Laboratory (SAML) for processing and BST analysis. The final report for the Cypress Creek BST Study will include analysis and trends on Cypress Creek E. coli sources both upstream and downstream of the downtown Wimberley area as determined by the unique genetic “fingerprint” identified for each of the E. coli isolates. SAML will provide preliminary BST results within 6 weeks of each sampling event.