Stumbled onto an interesting database for Inyo drinking water systems.

Here's the Whitney Portal violation details. The first E Coli violation was found on Aug 1 and second test was Aug 15. No other tests reported since then. Click on the links on the left for more info.

Of particular interest, I see some Nitrate started to show up in 2008 (soon after the toilets were removed). That's the other contaminate of interest to watch regarding fecal waste contamination. The levels are low but its a possible indication of human or animal waste getting into the groundwater. In some ways, Nitrate is a better warning sign as it doesn't degrade as quickly as bacteria. Its not harmful in low doses. Taken together, this really calls for more investigation. If the groundwater is getting contaminated, it will show up in the new spring eventually.

BTW, drinking water standards for wells (and presumably springs as well - pun intended) does not allow any E Coli in a sample. In contrast, surface water samples from the creeks allows quite a bit of E Coli, acceptable for body contact. Surface water used for drinking would normally be chlorinated.

We also need to see the results of creek sampling (especially after the toilets were removed). Because the standards are much more relaxed for surface water, E Coli could be showing up in significant amounts and they wouldn't be obligated to do anything about it.

https://sdwis.waterboards.ca.gov/PDWW/JS...wsys_st_code=CA

https://sdwis.waterboards.ca.gov/PDWW/JS...=&end_date=