A Walkthrough with GLO on Ocean Bacterial Samples by Jeremy Bochniak |
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For the past couple of weeks, Island Matters has tracked oceanic bacterial levels to ensure our readers' water safety, regardless of where they visit or reside on South Padre Island. The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley Marine Lab and the General Land Office (GLO) produce these numbers, providing insight into the ever-changing conditions of our beach water. The Marine Lab and GLO graciously allowed an observation of how they obtain, store, and test their data.
Every Tuesday and Wednesday, a lab technician named Eberto Presas, known to his co-workers simply as “Bert,” starts up his beach cart and prepares to collect samples for the week. On Wednesday, June 12th, Bert collected samples on the north end of the beach. Presas has been collecting samples for 13 years for UTRGV and GLO, and he hopes to continue this job until he retires. Presas, 59, says that working on the beach and in the lab gives him great joy, and he does not take it for granted. He enjoys greeting vacationers during his stops and has even developed friendships with residents of the Island.
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The first stop was at Andy Bowie Park. The sampling protocol is simple: take a sample cup, go into the beach water until knee-deep, and fill the cup. Total time: 30 seconds. Simple, yet effective. |
| Pictured: Eberto Presas testing the waters. |
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Presas throws the sample in the ice chest to keep it at a good temperature and then moves on to the next sampling spot to repeat the process. After an hour of stopping and sampling at eight different points, the last sample was taken at Beach Access #6 and then it was back to the Marine Lab.
Back at the lab, Presas began processing the samples collected that morning. He put them into individual packets to keep them in a cool fridge for 24 hours to ensure the samples come out 100% accurate.
Once Wednesday morning’s samples were processed and stored, Tuesday’s samples were ready for testing. Presas put the individual samples under a UV light, which shows where bacteria is found. The more light that appears, the more bacteria are present. Presas then recorded the numbers into the computer and repeated this step until every sample was ready to be posted. |
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Pictured: Eberto Presas in the lab testing samples |
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Since Island Matters started posting the results, no sample site has exceeded 104 cfu, the threshold indicating it is recommended to avoid that part of the Gulf. If a sample exceeds the 104 mark, Presas takes a new sample every day until the cfu drops under 104. The primary reason for high bacteria levels entering the ocean is precipitation coming from the Rio Grande from cities like McAllen, Harlingen, and Brownsville. With storms looming around the RGV all this week, it is something to keep an eye on when results are posted next week.
A big thank you goes to UTRGV, GLO, and Eberto “Bert” Presas for allowing an inside look at the process of monitoring bacterial levels in the ocean. Future collaborations are hoped for. |
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| Jeremy Bochniak was born and raised in San Antonio and graduated from Texas State University with a degree in journalism and English. While in college, Jeremy wrote for The University Star, Texas State’s school newspaper, covering women’s Volleyball, Basketball, and Softball. After graduation, he wrote as a sports contributor for Chicitysports.com, focusing on all of the professional sports in Chicago. |
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