Little Choctawhatchee River at Highway 123

Newton, Alabama
Managed by Choctawhatchee Riverkeeper
$500 Puts Your Two Line Ad Here Through Oct 1 2015 Call 334-807-1365 for More Info $ Go to Monitoring

This site itself is lightly used for recreation but is an entry point for paddlers travelling down the Little Choctawhatchee River past the remains of the Old Power Dam to the Choctawhatchee River and the boat ramp at Clayhatchee or beyond.

Historical data for the site is available at the Alabama Water Watch website under Site Code 04007028. There have been data with moderate levels of bacteria and observations suggesting even higher levels reported by paddlers and fishermen.

Until fairly recently the Little Choctawhatchee River had high bacteria counts every time there was a good rain event. Smaller rain events delivered and still deliver bacteria from livestock in tributaries not far upstream. Large storms caused and may still cause bacteria from sewer overflows to enter the stream. Although the offending Beaver Creek WWTP is closed there has not yet been enough data collected to rule out problems. Folks using this site should avoid using it for swimming immediately after and up to perhaps 48 hours after a large rain event.

WATER QUALITY
  • Passed water quality tests 60-95% of the time
  • Historical Status
  • This status is based on the latest sample, taken on . Choctawhatchee Riverkeeper updates the status of this beach as soon as test results become available. These results were posted to Swim Guide on at
For water quality icon legend, click:   
CURRENT WEATHER
25°C
Mostly clear
  • Report Pollution
MONITORING FREQUENCY

Little Choctawhatchee River at Highway 123 is sampled from May 15th to September 15th

SOURCE INFORMATION

The State of Alabama does not regularly monitor any inland swimming areas/beaches. The monitoring is done by Choctawhatchee Riverkeeper at sites where there is significant recreational use. Monitoring is done using methods (protocols) developed by the Alabama Water Watch program that have been approved for first-alert monitoring by Region 4 of the U.

S. EPA.

Choctawhatchee Riverkeeper will monitor these sites for E. coli early in the swimming season until at least Labor Day. If resources allow these sites will at a minimum be monitored once prior to each major summer holiday. If additional resources are available these 5 will be monitored five times a month in May, June-July and August to check for contamination. All data will be reported to the media. Sites that fail to meet water quality standards will be reported to county health departments, the local watershed management authority, posted to the blog on the Choctawhatchee Riverkeeper website and reported directly to members of Choctawhatchee Riverkeeper and the Wiregrass Canoe and Kayak Club.

Sites that fail to meet water quality standards will be tested approximately once a week until they meet water quality standards. If they continue to fail to meet water quality standards, efforts will be made to post the sites as failing or have them posted. Sites that meet water quality standards in the early testing period will be tested prior to each major summer holiday. If at any point they fail to meet water quality standards, they will be tested as above.

For safe and unsafe levels, Choctawhatchee Riverkeeper uses several levels based upon the use of the site. For single samples Choctawhatchee Riverkeeper uses the numbers that Alabama Water Watch uses in its training materials which are slightly rounded from the numbers in EPA 440/5-84-002

These are: We/AWW Uses EPA Number

Designated Beach Area 200 235
Moderately Used Swimming Area 300 298
Lightly Used Swimming Area 400 409
Rarely Used Swimming Area 600 575

WATER QUALITY GRAPH

Little Choctawhatchee River at Highway 123

Newton, Alabama
Managed by Choctawhatchee Riverkeeper
WATER QUALITY
  • Passed water quality tests 60-95% of the time
  • Historical Status
  • This status is based on the latest sample, taken on . Choctawhatchee Riverkeeper updates the status of this beach as soon as test results become available. These results were posted to Swim Guide on at
For water quality icon legend, click:   
CURRENT WEATHER
25°C
Mostly clear
$500 Puts Your Two Line Ad Here Through Oct 1 2015 Call 334-807-1365 for More Info $ Go to Monitoring

This site itself is lightly used for recreation but is an entry point for paddlers travelling down the Little Choctawhatchee River past the remains of the Old Power Dam to the Choctawhatchee River and the boat ramp at Clayhatchee or beyond.

Historical data for the site is available at the Alabama Water Watch website under Site Code 04007028. There have been data with moderate levels of bacteria and observations suggesting even higher levels reported by paddlers and fishermen.

Until fairly recently the Little Choctawhatchee River had high bacteria counts every time there was a good rain event. Smaller rain events delivered and still deliver bacteria from livestock in tributaries not far upstream. Large storms caused and may still cause bacteria from sewer overflows to enter the stream. Although the offending Beaver Creek WWTP is closed there has not yet been enough data collected to rule out problems. Folks using this site should avoid using it for swimming immediately after and up to perhaps 48 hours after a large rain event.

  • Report Pollution
MONITORING FREQUENCY

Little Choctawhatchee River at Highway 123 is sampled from May 15th to September 15th

SOURCE INFORMATION

The State of Alabama does not regularly monitor any inland swimming areas/beaches. The monitoring is done by Choctawhatchee Riverkeeper at sites where there is significant recreational use. Monitoring is done using methods (protocols) developed by the Alabama Water Watch program that have been approved for first-alert monitoring by Region 4 of the U.

S. EPA.

Choctawhatchee Riverkeeper will monitor these sites for E. coli early in the swimming season until at least Labor Day. If resources allow these sites will at a minimum be monitored once prior to each major summer holiday. If additional resources are available these 5 will be monitored five times a month in May, June-July and August to check for contamination. All data will be reported to the media. Sites that fail to meet water quality standards will be reported to county health departments, the local watershed management authority, posted to the blog on the Choctawhatchee Riverkeeper website and reported directly to members of Choctawhatchee Riverkeeper and the Wiregrass Canoe and Kayak Club.

Sites that fail to meet water quality standards will be tested approximately once a week until they meet water quality standards. If they continue to fail to meet water quality standards, efforts will be made to post the sites as failing or have them posted. Sites that meet water quality standards in the early testing period will be tested prior to each major summer holiday. If at any point they fail to meet water quality standards, they will be tested as above.

For safe and unsafe levels, Choctawhatchee Riverkeeper uses several levels based upon the use of the site. For single samples Choctawhatchee Riverkeeper uses the numbers that Alabama Water Watch uses in its training materials which are slightly rounded from the numbers in EPA 440/5-84-002

These are: We/AWW Uses EPA Number

Designated Beach Area 200 235
Moderately Used Swimming Area 300 298
Lightly Used Swimming Area 400 409
Rarely Used Swimming Area 600 575

WATER QUALITY GRAPH



Swim Guide shares the best information we have at the moment you ask for it. Always obey signs at the beach or advisories from official government agencies. Stay alert and check for other swimming hazards such as dangerous currents and tides. Please report your pollution concerns so Affiliates can help keep other beach-goers safe.

Swim Guide, "Swim Drink Fish icons," and associated trademarks are owned by Lake Ontario Waterkeeper.| See Legal.

© Lake Ontario Waterkeeper, 2011 - 2018