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Swim Guide
Sampling
Swim Guide delivers free real-time water quality information for over 7,000 beaches, lakes, rivers, and swimming holes in Canada, the U.S., Mexico, the Bahamas, Ireland, France, New Zealand, and Australia. It helps you easily find your closest beaches, know at a glance which ones are safe for swimming, and share your love of beaches with friends and family.
Created and managed by Swim Drink Fish Canada (formerly Lake Ontario Waterkeeper), Swim Guide can be used by any public interest club, organization, or agency to share beach information with the public.
Want to help us out? Please consider sponsoring one water sample for Swim Guide for $30, or sponsor a site for the entire summer for $500!
Results
Week of August 27, 2025
This is our last week of Swim Guide testing, and we have our results! 22 out of 26 sites passed! Yadkin Riverkeeper is investigating sources of contamination at the sites that consistently failed to meet the guideline for safe recreational use this summer. Have a great long weekend!
¡Tenemos los resultados de la Guía de Natación para la última semana! 22 de 26 sitios pasaron la guía de seguridad. Yadkin Riverkeeper está investigando los sitios que fallan a menudo. Disfruten el fin de semana largo!
A big THANK YOU to all our sampling volunteers and to our Swim Guide sponsors- Cube Hydro Carolinas and Bill Jenkins & Pam Townsend!
Week of August 20, 2025
We have this week’s Swim Guide results and we saw an improvement with 19 out of 26 sites passing. If we receive rain this weekend, you can expect the E. coli levels to rise. Enjoy the water this weekend!
¡Tenemos los resultados de la Guía de Natación esta semana! 19 de 26 sitios pasaron la guía de seguridad.
Thank you to our sampling volunteers and to our Swim Guide sponsors- Cube Hydro Carolinas and Bill Jenkins & Pam Townsend!
Week of August 13, 2025
7 out of 24 sites sampled passed Swim Guide this week. We had rain again leading up to and during sampling on Wednesday which contributed to the high failure rate this week. YRK will look into sources of bacteria at sites with a high percentage of failures at the end of the season. Please be careful recreating on the river and lake this weekend!
¡Tenemos los resultados de la Guía de Natación esta semana! 7 de 24 sitios pasaron la guía de seguridad. Recibimos lluvia antes del muestreo de agua que contribuyó a los altos niveles de bacterias.
Thank you to our sampling volunteers and to our Swim Guide sponsors- Cube Hydro Carolinas and Bill Jenkins & Pam Townsend!
Week of August 6, 2025
We have the Swim Guide results for this week, and 10 out of 26 sites passed this week. Across the watershed, we received rain the days leading up to sampling on Wednesday. Agricultural and stormwater runoff cause elevated bacteria levels after rain events. Be safe on the water this weekend!
Tenemos los resultados de la Guía de Natación esta semana. 10 de 26 sitios pasaron la guía de seguridad. Recibimos lluvia los últimos días que causa niveles altos de bacteria.
Thank you to our sampling volunteers and to our Swim Guide sponsors- Cube Hydro Carolinas and Bill Jenkins & Pam Townsend!
Week of July 30, 2025
14 out of 26 Swim Guide sites passed this week. We saw elevated levels again in the upper watershed above Kerr Scott Lake at Happy Valley School, Ferguson, and Marley’s Ford and in the upper/middle watershed from Roaring River to Donnaha. Bull Hole and Abbott’s Creek also failed to meet the safe recreational use guideline. Please use precautions such as avoiding direct contact with the water at failing sites, covering cuts, and preventing water from entering your eyes, ears, and mouth.
¡Tenemos los resultados de la Guía de Natación esta semana! 14 de 26 sitios pasaron la guía de seguridad. Tengan cuidado cuando visiten estos sitios.
Thank you to our sampling volunteers and to our Swim Guide sponsors- Cube Hydro Carolinas and Bill Jenkins & Pam Townsend!
Week of July 23, 2025
We have our Swim Guide results for this week on the Yadkin River and lakes. 14 out of 26 sites passed. The high frequency of rain events this summer is most likely contributing to elevated bacteria levels. Please be careful recreating and avoid sites with high levels of E. coli.
¡Tenemos los resultados de la Guía de Natación esta semana! 14 de 26 sitios pasaron la guía de seguridad.
Thank you to our sampling volunteers and to our Swim Guide sponsors- Cube Hydro Carolinas and Bill Jenkins & Pam Townsend!