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Pamlico-Tar Riverkeeper Katey Zimmerman and Water Quality Specialist Taylor Seijo were in the field last week, hunting down outdated and failing wastewater infrastructure in rural areas.

Part of the Mid-East Regional Wastewater Improvement Plan—a 205j grant project—Sound Rivers’ role is in the sampling across Beaufort, Hertford, Pitt, Martin and Bertie counties.

“In the first phase of our sampling, we identified a bunch of at-risk sites across all five counties, and then carried out baseline and post-rain sampling rounds to look at water quality parameters and bacteria levels,” Taylor said.

From that round of sampling data, the field was narrowed down to five sites that will be monitored on a bi-monthly basis for the next year.

“The goal of this is to get a really comprehensive view of potential bacteria inputs from septic, especially in regards to severity levels and if any contamination is driven by weather events,” Taylor said.

With the data sets of YSI parameters and E. coli levels, the Mid-East Commission will be able to recommend strategies to local governments and municipalities to improve problem areas, as well as help with funding applications and technical assistance to actually get those strategies put in place.

While Taylor and Katey conducted the first phase of sampling solo, they decided to team up for this round, which turned out to be a good thing.

“We decided to go together because there were some of my sites that Katey hadn’t visited before and vice versa, but we also try to implement the ‘buddy system’ for field work when we can, just in case anything goes wrong,” Taylor said. “And, of course, something went wrong this time!”

When the work truck got stuck on a muddy shoulder in the middle of nowhere near Ahoskie — two hos away from the closest Sound Rivers’ office — the pair spent a solid hour shoving floor mats and whatever else they could find under the tires to try and get traction, finally resorting to scooping out mud from around the tires with a kayak paddle.

“Nothing was working, and we were just making it worse,” Taylor said.

Taylor had no cell phone service, but Katey, with one bar, was able to get through to AAA.

“She was able to call AAA to get us towed literally three feet back on the road,” she laughed. “It definitely made a long sampling day even longer, but was a great example of why we try to avoid going out in the field alone.”

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