Havelock creek fails Swim Guide test for 6th week in a row

WASHINGTON, N.C. (WNCT) — Sound Rivers published their swim guide results for this week and only one of the 52 sites tested did not meet requirements.

All 52 sites run from the Neuse to Tar-Pamlico watersheds. Slocum Creek in Havelock did not meet the quality standards for the sixth week in a row.

“Most of North Carolina is in a drought right now, and no stormwater runoff means less bacteria flowing into your waterways,” said Clay Barber, Sound Rivers’ program director. “Slocum Creek has a different problem: failing septic tanks in a neighborhood on Wolf Pit Branch, which is a tributary of Slocum Creek. We’re working with the Craven County Health Department to try to get this addressed.”

The amount of enterococci, a fecal bacteria, in Slocum Creek was found to be 24 times the EPA standard. Barber recommends that anyone who wishes to swim in the creek keep their head above water and any cuts covered.

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