Choctawhatchee River at Hutto Park, Newton. Alabama

Most waterways are open but please keep safe and help others stay safe by maintaining distancing.

This site is a lightly used to moderate use area for swimming and is an entry point for paddlers entering or exiting the river at this point. There are some campsites at the park and there is water and electricity. There are no bathing facilities.

Historical data is available at the Alabama Water Watch website at http://www.alabamawaterwatch.org/ using Site Code 04007091.

Historically only one high E. coli value has been seen for this site and that was after a heavy rainfall. The town of Newton is just upstream and sewer overflow or septic waste is a possible bacteria source immediately following a heavy rainfall. Under normal flow conditions this site should not be expected to have contamination issues.

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COVID-19

Keep your distance from other people.

Practicing social distancing is still essential. Only go to the beach if you are able to keep 6 feet or 2 meters away from others. Follow the instructions provided by your local health authorities. If your community has asked that you remain indoors and away from others, do so. Spending a day in any crowded place is the worst thing we can do for our most vulnerable right now and will counter our efforts to curb the virus’s spread.

Water Quality

Passed water quality tests at least 95% of the time
Historical Status
This status is based on the latest sample, taken on September 2nd, 2021. Choctawhatchee Riverkeeper updates the status of this beach as soon as test results become available. These results were posted to Swim Guide on September 6th, 2021 at 6:36 AM.

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Current Weather

6°C

Cloudy

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Monitoring Frequency

Source Information

The State of Alabama does not regularly monitor inland swimming areas/beaches. The monitoring is done by Choctawhatchee Riverkeeper and its volunteers at sites where there is significant recreational use. Monitoring is done using methods (the Coliscan EasyGel protocol) utilized by the Alabama Water Watch (AWW) program. The Alabama Water Watch program has submitted QA/QC plans that have been approved for first-alert monitoring by Region 4 of the U.S. EPA. AWW trains, certifies and periodically recertifies volunteer monitors.

Choctawhatchee Riverkeeper generally monitors sites in the Alabama portion of the river basin for E. coli from April to September. If resources allow these sites will at a minimum be monitored once prior to each major summer holiday. If additional resources are available and conditions allow, most sites will be monitored six times, once a month in April, May, June, July, August, September to check for contamination. Some sites will be monitored more frequently, typically weekly as part of an effort to get river segments use classification upgraded to include swimming and whole body contact recreation. All data will be posted in SWIM Guide. Sites that fail to meet water quality standards will be reported to the media 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, the Wiregrass Canoe and Kayak Club and members of the SE Alabama Chapter of the Alabama Scenic River Trail.

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.

According to ALABAMA DEPARTMENT OF ENVIRONMENTAL MANAGEMENT WATER DIVISION – WATER QUALITY PROGRAM, for incidental water contact and whole body water-contact recreation, the bacterial quality of water is acceptable when a sanitary survey by the controlling health authorities reveals no source of dangerous pollution and when the geometric mean E. coli organism density does not exceed 126 colonies/100 ml nor exceed a maximum of 235 colonies/100 mL in any single sample in non-coastal waters.

Our sites are GREEN when E. coli do not exceed a maximum of 235 colonies/100 ml in any single sample.

Our sites are RED when the E. coli in a single sample exceeds a 235 colonies/100 mL in any single sample unless the sample is an outlier - for example it was taken in a first flush event or shortly after a significant runoff event.

Water Quality Graph