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Water Quality Specialist Taylor Register Seijo completed a fifth round of sampling on Slocum Creek in Havelock this week, part of a yearlong effort to get to the bottom of the beloved creek’s ongoing pollution problem.

“Now that we have a couple of months of data, we can start trying to look at the big picture and pull trends out of our sample results,” Taylor said. “So far, we have been seeing a small spike in bacteria levels around the Wolf Pit Branch tributary, which is not out of the ordinary. However, I will say that levels are not quite as high as we’ve seen in the past.”

Recent failing results at the Slocum Creek boat ramp align with Swim Guide data over the past two weeks — this was that site that originally raised concerns about ongoing pollution, after the site failed to meet recreational water-quality standards 12 out of 14 times during the 2023 Swim Guide season.

“These have been relatively low fails in comparison to what we’ve measured in the past,” Taylor said. “I know the public is seeing that Slocum Creek continues to fail, but behind the scenes with the raw data we’re seeing a gradual decrease in the severity of contamination, which is progress in the right direction.”

This week’s results, however, found much higher levels of bacteria: only one of six sites was within the EPA’s threshold.

“Everywhere else had pretty high levels of bacteria, especially around Wolf Pit, and I will say, this is the first time I’ve seen levels this high since before January,” Taylor said. “I did notice that water levels in the creek were about three feet higher than normal, and there was a lot of backflow since salinity was a good bit higher at my upstream sites. So, I think that new water coming in is likely moving some contamination around from areas of the creek that have been dry for some time.”

Taylor said her next step is to pick out some additional sampling sites on the creek to help narrow down any pollution inputs that may have slipped under her radar. This yearlong sampling program is being conducted in partnership with the University of North Carolina Institute of Marine Sciences and is funded by a North Carolina Land and Water Fund grant.

Taylor’s relatively uneventful sampling trips over the past several months came to an abrupt end on Wednesday. At her first sampling site of the day, she had an unforgettable encounter.

“At the site on Sunset Drive, I have to scramble over some rocks to get to the culvert that I usually sample from,” Taylor said. “Well, while I was doing that, I wasn’t paying attention and stepped right on a massive copperhead that was sunning himself on the rocks. Naturally, he reared back and hissed at me, and I screamed and fell on the rocks. But I guess it was my lucky day, and he was more scared of me, because he turned around and hid under the rocks, and I was able to finish sampling without getting bitten.”

Taylor said snakes and spiders don’t really bother her, but this call was a little too close.

“It definitely put me on edge for the rest of the day,” Taylor said. “I usually wear long pants and boots when I’m out in the field because I’m a magnet for poison ivy, but after today, I think I’m going to make sure I bring some snake chaps with me.”

Like the work your Water Quality Specialist is doing to stop Slocum Creek’s pollution? We do too! Donate today to pitch in for Taylor’s snake chaps!