Sewage Spill in Southern California

Sewage spills, leaks and overflows continue to pollute our beach water and are the 2nd major culprit behind swimming advisories and beach closures issued in this country (stormwater runoff is the first). Another big sewage spill just occurred in Southern California on September 29, 2010.

Los Angeles County health officials closed a two-mile stretch of beach just south of Ballona Creek near Marina del Rey last week after raw sewage flowed into the ocean. The closures were ordered after a clog in a sewer main caused a manhole near Centinela Avenue and Sepulveda Boulevard to overflow Wednesday, discharging an estimated 500,000 gallons of raw sewage into a storm drain that leads to Ballona Creek and, eventually, the Pacific Ocean. The spill ranks among the worst in the last two years along the Los Angeles County coastline.

Major Marina del Rey sewage spill will keep beach closed for days A blockage in a main sent about 500,000 gallons of raw sewage into a storm drain leading to Ballona Creek. The spill ranks among the worst in the last two years along the Los Angeles County coastline.

October 01, 2010|By Tony Barboza, Los Angeles Times

A major sewage spill that has closed a two-mile stretch of beach near Marina del Rey released about 500,000 gallons of raw sewage into a storm drain that runs to Ballona Creek and eventually spills into the ocean, authorities said.

The spill ranks among the worst in the last two years along the Los Angeles County coastline. The beach will probably remain closed for three days.

Residents reported a manhole overflowing with sewage near Centinela Avenue and Sepulveda Boulevard about 12:30 p.m. Wednesday, said Ron Charles, spokesman for the Los Angeles Public Works Department.

City crews dispatched to the scene determined the spill was caused by a blockage in a sewer main.

"The entire backup amount entered an adjacent storm drain, which discharges to the Sepulveda Channel, and ultimately, the Ballona Creek," Charles said in a statement.

Los Angeles and Culver City work crews diverted the flow of sewage, vacuumed up effluent streaming down a hillside and fixed the backup by about 5:30 p.m.

Dr. Jonathan Fielding, director of the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health, called it a "major spill," but did not know how much of the sewage had reached the ocean.

The two-mile stretch of beach south of Ballona Creek will remain closed to swimmers and surfers until at least 3 p.m. Saturday, he said.

In January 2006, 2 million gallons of raw sewage spilled from a Manhattan Beach pumping plant after an apparent power failure. Officials launched a massive cleanup after hundreds of thousands of gallons flowed onto the sand and into the ocean.

The last major spill happened in January in South Gate, when 210,000 gallons of sewage flowed through the L.A. River and emptied into Long Beach Harbor, county records show.

County health officials said they are closely monitoring and testing ocean water near the outlet of Ballona Creek. Beaches will reopen when they pass health tests for two consecutive days.

tony.barboza@latimes.com

Beach monitoring in CA suffers from budget cuts: Part 2

State's Budget Cuts Put Surfers at Risk
By Chelsea Marcum
September 29, 2010

California’s pristine coastline is in imminent danger, due to the state's financial woes. Photo: Pu’u

Beach quality testing in California has plummeted in recent years, increasing surfers' risk of unknowingly exposing themselves to contaminated water, according to a report by the Los Angeles Times. With no clear state funding for testing after this year, advocacy groups like Surfrider Foundation and Santa Barbara Channelkeeper are stepping up to fill the gap.

Surfrider Foundation began testing beaches in the early '90s, due to the lack of public information on water quality, but bowed out to county agencies in 1999, after a California law required official publicized beach monitoring throughout the state. California led the country in beach quality monitoring, paving the way for the Federal Beach Act, which established water-testing requirements around the nation.

It's a decade later, and water testing in California has fallen to an all-time low since the policy change. In 2008, the state cut the project's $1 million budget, leaving health agencies scrambling to continue testing with emergency bond funds, which are expected to run out by the end of the year. By law, counties are not required to continue the beach monitoring without proper funding, prompting Surfrider to conduct its own testing.

"Some of the counties will basically take the winter off," says Surfrider's Coastal Management Coordinator, Rick Wilson. The counties are prioritizing and assume there will be fewer beach-goers during the colder months, he says. Many Surfrider chapters are using volunteers to raise funds for lab equipment, collect samples, and publicize test results on the web.

"We're not a state certified lab, so we're not necessarily saying to close the beach because of our results," says Wilson. "But it's good general information to know whether the bacteria counts are high or low."

Water with high levels of bacteria, sourced from sewage systems, leaking septic tanks or animal waste, makes surfers vulnerable to illness, rashes and infections. And after the 2008 winter budget cuts, Santa Barbara Channelkeeper took over monitoring several county beaches, posting the contamination levels from spots like Rincon and El Capitan State Beach.

It's common for locals to complain of such ailments after surfing certain spots, says Ben Pitterle, the Watershed Group's Program Director. But coupled with the best swells of the season, even the worst contamination reports can be ignored. Pitterle admits that deciding whether or not to jump in questionable water leads to an unfair give and take, in which good surf usually wins. "If the surf's not that good and it's dirty, I'll stay out," he says. "I think most surfers know what they're getting into-if the surf's good enough, they're probably going to go for it anyways."

Paul Jenkin, Environmental Coordinator for Ventura County's Surfrider Chapter, suffers from frequent ear infections and once had mononucleosis, allegedly caused by poor water quality. The Ventura Surfrider chapter partners with Pitterle's group to test the often-neglected fresh water streams feeding to the central coastline. He believes more people should report illness after surfing dirty water, even when the correlation is difficult to confirm. "I think a lot of surfers think, 'Oh yeah bummer I got sick,' and just kind of move on with things. But if nobody reports then nobody knows. We need to demonstrate that there really is a health risk," he says.

Surfers shouldn't ignore useful albeit bothersome guidelines, like showering post-session and staying out of the water for 72 hours after rainfall. When deciding whether to go to beaches that are near heavy development, creek mouths, or storm drains, Wilson suggests choosing spots with the most natural surroundings. "Where [polluted] water tends to collect, then spill out to the ocean, is typically worse than a spot half a mile away," says Wilson.

California coast residents testing the neglected beaches are hoping for county programs to resume this winter. "We're definitely discouraged that the funding for this kind of important testing is being cut," says Pitterle. "We hope as things turn around, and as the economy improves, it will again become a priority."

http://www.surfermag.com/features/onlineexclusives/californias_contaminated_coastline_surfrider_foundation_beach_water_testing/

Beach monitoring in CA suffers from budget cuts

The downturn in the economy these past couple years has been affecting beach monitoring programs around the country. The below article from the LA Times, documents the problem in California.

Health testing way down at California beaches

The monitoring is at its lowest level since becoming law more than a decade ago, putting swimmers, surfers and divers at greater risk of exposure to contaminated water, a Times investigation shows.

August 30, 2010|By Tony Barboza, Los Angeles Times

Irfan Khan, Los Angeles Times

Health testing of California's beaches has slumped to its lowest level since ocean monitoring became law more than a decade ago, putting swimmers, surfers and divers at greater risk of exposure to contaminated water, a Times investigation has found.

Beaches from San Diego to the Bay Area are being tested less often and in fewer locations; some are going untested for months at a time. Statewide, the number of annual tests for bacteria has dropped by nearly half since 2005, according to a Times analysis of state records.

Beach closures and advisories have also fallen dramatically — in part because there's less pollution, but also because health officials aren't detecting the dirty water that remains.

At calm, sheltered Baby Beach in Dana Point, which attracts parents with young children but also traps contaminated runoff, health officials did not test for five months earlier this year.

In Long Beach, home to some of the most polluted ocean water in the state, 40% of beach sites are no longer being tested, city officials said. State records show that testing at Cabrillo Beach in San Pedro is down 80% and 65% in Santa Monica. At San Onofre State Beach at the northern edge of San Diego County, water at the legendary Trestles surf break was tested only four times last year, down from nearly 70 times in 2005.

The culprit is a familiar one: state and county budget cuts. In 2008, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger vetoed the $1 million the state had provided each year to test hundreds of beaches for bacteria. Since then, emergency bond funds and stimulus dollars have been tapped to keep the testing program afloat, but the money is expected to evaporate by year's end.

Overall, water quality at the region's beaches is almost certainly better than it was in the past, experts say. Tens of millions of dollars have been spent to divert and treat runoff and wastewater before it washes into the ocean. Drought conditions have also reduced the amount of runoff reaching the ocean.

Nonetheless, clean-water advocates say the cutbacks have put people at risk. Those who swim in contaminated water are exposed to gastrointestinal viruses and to pathogens that can cause skin rashes and ear, eye and staph infections. Swimmers are most likely to get sick in poor-circulating water near river mouths and sewer outfalls, especially after rain.

"Water quality absolutely has gotten better during the summer months," said Mark Gold, president of Heal the Bay. "But the reality is that less frequent monitoring means there's a much greater chance of someone swimming or surfing in polluted water unknowingly."

Tourism officials have also expressed concern. They say the cost to monitor beaches is inconsequential compared with the estimated $12 billion in tourist-related revenue California beach towns generate each year.

"California's coastline is one of our biggest assets as a travel destination," said Kathryn Burnside, a spokeswoman for the California Travel and Tourism Commission. "What makes sense from a health perspective certainly makes sense for the tourism industry."

Health and wastewater agencies responsible for beach testing defend the scaled-back monitoring as adequate. Some officials said the amount of testing has been underreported, while others acknowledged severe cutbacks.

Schwarzenegger's office said the state has continued funding beach water monitoring at a 90% level despite budget difficulties.

"It is not immediately clear why the number of tests taken by counties have declined this much," spokeswoman Rachel Arrezola said in a written statement. She said the Department of Public Health and the State Water Board are investigating the reason for the declines while they search for a permanent funding source for future testing.

Los Angeles County health officials said their own testing has remained constant and disputed the state's records for the county's coastline.

"We continue to do the tests weekly, and we're not doing less sampling because we don't have money," said Alfonso Medina, director of the county's Environmental Protection Bureau. However, other agencies that test some of the county's beaches may have cut back.

Public health officials say they are unable to gauge if reduced testing has caused more swimmers to get sick. Cases are rarely reported because they mimic ailments such as food poisoning or stomach flu.

The number of beaches in California closed by health officials has fallen 74% since 2005, The Times found. Postings, which alert swimmers to contaminated water, dropped 44%. State and local officials do not know how much of that decline is attributable to cleaner water and how much to less testing. Many beachgoers, however, assume that the lack of signs means the water is clean.

"If there isn't a sign posted, I kind of assume it's safe," said Susan Thomas, who takes her 16-month-old daughter, MaKenzie, to the beach every other weekend. "We're obviously taking a risk going into the water anywhere along this coast, but when she swims, she goes under."

The beach where Thomas spoke, Baby Beach in Dana Point, was busy on a balmy afternoon earlier this month. Dozens of children and their parents splashed in a shallow, roped-off swimming area as a lifeguard watched from a tower nearby.

Historically, the beach has been one of the region's dirtiest, sliding by with C's and D's on Heal the Bay's annual beach report card. And yet health monitoring at Baby Beach and 38 other beaches in Orange County — including Little Corona in Newport Beach and Main Beach in Laguna — shut down for five months during the winter for lack of funds.

California's pioneering 1999 law requires health officials to test at least once a week during the long summer beach season. If a beach fails, lifeguards post signs alerting swimmers to the risk. Congress used the law as its national model, and many Southern California beaches expanded to year-round, almost daily testing earlier this decade.

But the California law has a loophole: Testing isn't required if the program is not fully funded. Without money from Sacramento, health agencies can cut testing or choose not to report results without violating the law, something state officials suspect is contributing to the declining numbers.

In Ventura County, the loss of state funds meant that monitoring of its 42-mile coastline was halted for eight months in November 2008.

"Once the money went away, there was no mandate to sample, so we suspended sampling," said program coordinator Richard Hauge.

In some coastal areas, nonprofits are taking up the slack as government agencies cut back.

When Santa Barbara County reduced funding for year-round beach testing two years ago, the nonprofit Santa Barbara Channelkeeper raised money to pay interns to collect the water samples at 16 beaches through the winter, when the bigger waves draw more surfers.

Other places, such as Orange County, are collaborating more with sanitation districts, which are required to test ocean water as part of their license to discharge wastewater from sewage treatment plants.

And in San Diego County, which had to drop its monitoring program for half a year last winter, health officials have begun more frequent testing at pollution-prone coastlines, such as Torrey Pines State Beach.

Even with those assists, however, there is less information available for surfers and swimmers like Barry Gardner, a ninth-grade health teacher from Yorba Linda who takes half a dozen surf camping trips a year.

He's wary of spending too much time in dirty ocean water and avoids a section of Doheny State Beach known as "Dead Bird Cove" because of its supposed toxicity. But for the most part, he prefers to push his luck.

"If the surf is good, I'm going to go in the water," he said. "But if you don't know what's in it, it's tough."

tony.barboza@latimes.com

Times staff writer Doug Smith and data analyst Sandra Poindexter contributed to this report.

Lessons from a week in the Gulf. Water quality is unknown.

Check out Jim Moriarity's latest posting on his oceans, waves & beaches blog. He talks about his recent trip to the Gulf, concerns over water quality there, and the Emerald Coast Chapter's efforts to begin testing their beach water for dispersants and oil.

Lessons from a week in the Gulf. Water quality is unknown.

NRDC Testing the Waters 2010 featuring Hawaii

The Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC) has just released their annual Testing the Waters report. Every year, NRDC presents all of the beach monitoring and closure data that each coastal state submits to the EPA Beach program. The 2010 report includes data from the previous year, 2009, and highlights the importance of green infrastructure as a natural solution to managing and preventing storm water runoff.

This year the report also provides coverage of current events at beaches in the Gulf. Tens of millions of gallons of oil have gushed into Gulf waters from the Deepwater Horizon well, and at the time of this writing, oil has washed up on beaches in Alabama, Louisiana, Florida and Mississippi. NRDC is tracking oil spill-related beach closings, advisories, and notices at Gulf beaches

This online report is a great source of information on local beach monitoring programs. You can click on your state summary and find every beach that is tested arranged by county. It also lists who is doing the testing, what closures or advisories were issued the previous year, and how those management decisions are made. While some chapters have expressed frustration that this report can make a misleading impression that beach water quality in localized areas is better than it actually is, this is usually due to the way the states report their monitoring and closure data. The NRDC report does a good job on reporting on the data that is available but doesn't necessarily account for beach and other popular recreational areas that the state does not test.

With this aside, it is still a great resource, and many of our chapters have participated in the release of the Testing the Waters report and have used the opportunity to get some of their own local concerns and issues into the press. Check out the below press release from Hawaii posted on Surfline.

Surfrider & NRDC's Annual "Testing The Waters" Report & Hawaii Ranking

July 28, 2010

PRESS RELEASE

Pollution continues to contaminate the water at America's beaches, causing 2,352 closing and advisory days in Hawaii last year and 18,682 nationwide. Meanwhile, as of July 27, the oil disaster had already led to 2,239 days of beach closing, advisories, and notices in the Gulf region this year, according to the 20th annual beachwater quality report released today by the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC).

"Due to state budget cuts this year, the Department of Health's Clean Water Branch lost 4 of its 5 water quality monitors on Oahu this year," says Stuart Coleman, Surfrider's Hawaii Coordinator. "This is a big liability for Hawaii because we are so dependent on tourism, and we need to make sure our waters are monitored and protected from waterborne diseases. Pollution from sewage spills, injection wells and stormwater runoff can cause all kinds of illnesses. For instance, Maui has some of the highest rates of staph infection and MRSA in the country."

The good news is that Surfrider chapters across Hawaii host monthly beach cleanups and work with the Clean Water Branch to do water quality testing across the state. "But there is still a lot of work to do to educate people and policy makers about ways to keep our oceans clean and conserve water, while reducing sewage spills and stormwater runoff," Coleman continues. For more information, check out Surfrider's website www.KnowYourH2O.org and their free online video called "Cycle of Insanity: The Real Story of Water," as well as their new www.Beachapedia.org website.

In its 20th year, NRDC's annual report - Testing the Waters: A Guide to Water Quality at Vacation Beaches - analyzes government data on beachwater testing results from 2009 at more than 3,000 beaches nationwide, and provides a 5-star rating chart for 200 of the nation's most popular beaches. The report confirms that last year, our nation's beachwater continued to suffer from serious contamination - including human and animal waste - and a concerted effort to control future pollution is required.

"From stomach-turning pathogens to dangerous oil slicks - America's beaches continue to suffer from pollution that can make people sick, harm marine life and destroy coastal economies," said NRDC Water Program Director David Beckman. "And as the disaster of unprecedented scale continues in the Gulf, we must clean up the mess, stop it from happening again, and make sure the communities bearing the brunt are not forgotten."

This year the report also includes a special section dedicated to oil-related beach closures, advisories, and notices in the Gulf region this summer. For the full report, go to www.nrdc.org/beaches.

HAWAII & NATIONAL FINDINGS

NRDC's report issued 5-star ratings for 200 of the most popular U.S. beaches, based on indicators of beachwater quality, monitoring frequency, and public notification of contamination. Beaches at Oahu's Hanauma Bay and Royal Hawaiian-Moana and Maui's Wailea Beach Park received a 4-star rating (out of 5). But beaches at Oahu's Kuliouou and Ke'ehi Lagoon and Kauai's Hanalei Beach Park rated only 2 stars.

This year's report found that 7 percent of beachwater samples nationwide in 2009 violated health standards, showing no improvement from the previous two years. In Hawaii, the percentage of health standard exceedances increased to 4% percent in 2009 from 2% percent in 2008. Hawaii ranks 5th in the nation for its beachwater quality testing.

Under the federal BEACH Act, states regularly test their beachwater for bacteria found in human and animal waste. These bacteria indicate the presence of pathogens. When beach managers determine that water contamination exceeds health standards - or in some cases when a state suspects levels would exceed standards, such as after heavy rain - they notify the public through beach closures or advisories. While the report found an overall 8 percent decrease in closing and advisory days at beaches nationwide from 2008, the change does not necessarily signal permanent improvement in beachwater quality. Rather, the overall decrease likely reflects decreased funding for water contamination monitoring in Southern California, as well as dry conditions in Hawaii and the four U.S. territories. In fact, many regions of the country actually saw sharp increases - including most of the East Coast and the entire Gulf Coast.

In Hawaii, Testing the Waters shows that the number of closing and advisory days decreased from 2008 to 2009. Most of the closing and advisory days were caused by stormwater runoff; so Hawaii saw a decrease in closing and advisory days because of a decrease in the amount of rain.

In 2009, stormwater runoff was the primary known source of pollution at beaches nationwide, consistent with past years. The report indicates polluted runoff continues to be a serious problem that has not been addressed. By using a wealth of available, smart water solutions on land - collectively called "green infrastructure" - we can naturally control and treat stormwater pollution, as well as prevent sewage overflows, to keep waste from reaching the beach. Green infrastructure refers to a variety of practices - such as green roofs, permeable pavement, roadside plantings and rain barrels - that stop rainwater where it falls and either store it for later use or allow it to soak back into the ground.

"Relying on dry weather to keep our beachwater clean is not a long-term public health protection strategy - when the rains return, so will the pollution," said Beckman. "Green infrastructure techniques on land can make a real difference in the water - and they're often the cheapest and most effective way to improve beachwater quality. From green roofs to permeable pavement and roadside plantings, there's a whole host of ways to not only prevent runoff pollution and sewage overflows from the start - but to beautify neighborhoods, boost economies and support American jobs at the same time."

Beachwater pollution nationwide causes a range of waterborne illnesses in swimmers including stomach flu, skin rashes, pinkeye, ear, nose and throat problems, dysentery, hepatitis, respiratory ailments, neurological disorders and other serious health problems. In fact, Maui has the highest rates of staph infection and MRSA in the country. For senior citizens, small children and people with weak immune systems, the results can be fatal. The incidence of infections has been steadily growing over the past several decades, and with coastal populations growing we can expect this upward trend to continue until the pollution sources are addressed.

"Sewage and runoff pollution in our beachwater is preventable," said Jon Devine, senior NRDC water attorney. "With investment in cost-effective, smarter water practices that are available today, communities can tackle the most common sources of pollution lurking in the waves."

OIL SPILL IMPACT ON GULF BEACHES:

As oil washes ashore, closures, advisories, and notices have been issued at many Gulf beaches - nearly 10 times as many closing and advisory days as were issued at these beaches for any reason by this time last year. So far this year, there have been a total of 2,239 beach closing, advisories, and notices in the Gulf region as a result of the oil disaster. Analysis of only those Gulf beaches that are regularly tested for water quality reveals a total of 1,972 days of closings, advisories, and notices related to the oil spill, compared to 237 closing and advisory days at those beaches this time last year for any reason.

Although Hawaii was not affected by the oil spill in the Gulf, our state is still 90% dependent on imported oil and vulnerable to spills like the Exxon Valdez incident. "In fact, in 1977, an oil tanker named the Hawaiian Patriot reported a crack in her hull, and approximately 18,000 tons of oil leaked into the sea 300 miles away from Hawaii, before the ship blew up and sank," Coleman says.

NRDC is maintaining a frequently updated map of current oil spill beach closures, advisories, and notices, which can be accessed here: http://www.nrdc.org/energy/gulfspill/beaches.asp.

The oil disaster in the Gulf of Mexico has caused tremendous damage not only to the environment and communities of the region, but also their economies. This includes the lucrative tourism and recreation industries in Gulf states, which generated a combined $26.5 billion in 2004 alone. Likewise, if a spill were to happen off of Hawaii, tourism and our economy would be devastated.

A disaster like this should never happen again. Measures should be taken to help mitigate the damage from this spill and avoid future spills, including permanently stopping the leak, suspending all new offshore drilling activity until we find out what happened, and moving to clean energy sources that can't spill or run out. Additionally, BP must be forced pay for the cleanup and costs in full - including fully compensating coastal communities for the damage to their economies.

TESTING THE WATERS, 20th EDITION - A LOOK BACK:

Since NRDC released its first Testing the Waters report, there have been significant improvements in beachwater testing and reporting. Due in large part to NRDC advocacy, nearly 3,000 coastal beaches, representing beaches in all 30 coastal states, are now monitoring at least weekly, if not more.

Twenty years ago, water quality monitoring records were not necessarily kept, even for states that conducted monitoring. Today, detailed information about beachwater quality is in most cases available online. States are also now applying more consistent water quality standards to beach closure and advisory decisions, and they are tying beach status more clearly to bacteria levels - a shift that provides better protection of public health.

SOLUTIONS:

There are several things the government and citizens can do to create healthier summers at the beach:

* Boosting green infrastructure in coastal communities can prevent stormwater runoff and sewage overflows from the start. These solutions not only clean up waterways, they literally green communities, cool and cleanse the air, reduce asthma and heat-related illnesses, save on heating and cooling energy costs, and generate landscaping and construction jobs. A bill recently introduced in Congress, the Green Infrastructure for Clean Water Act (H.R. 4202/S. 3561), aims to make green infrastructure and low impact development techniques a national priority.

* Simple steps in your everyday life can also make a difference in reducing beachwater pollution. This includes conserving water, redirecting drainage pipes toward gardens or vegetation, maintaining septic systems, and properly disposing of animal waste, litter, toxic household products, and used motor oil.

* Better testing and identification of contamination sources can help protect public health and address the causes. The Clean Coastal Environment and Public Health Act (H.R. 2093/S. 878), pending in Congress would enable better identification of pollution sources - which are often not investigated and therefore unknown - so they can be addressed. The bill would also require EPA to adopt faster testing methods to enable officials to issue prompter closings and advisories in the event of contamination. This would allow people to find out if it's safe to swim before they get in, not after - as is often the case today with slower testing methods.

* By cutting global warming pollution we can help avoid greater beachwater pollution in the future. The U.S. House of Representatives has already approved, and we now look to the Senate to pass, climate and clean energy legislation that would do just that, as well as help us transition to clean energy, and create millions of jobs at the same time. Since global warming is expected to increase pathogens in the water and stormwater runoff - as a result of increased floods and storms - passing legislation to minimize these impacts can help avoid beach pollution.

FOR MORE INFORMATION:

* For the full report, go to: http://www.nrdc.org/beaches.

* For a regularly updated map of Gulf beach closures due to oil, go to: http://www.nrdc.org/energy/gulfspill/beaches.asp.

* For tips for a safe trip to the beach this summer, go to: http://www.nrdc.org/water/oceans/gttw.asp.

* For info about ways to get involved, go to: http://www.surfrider.org/ or www.surfrider.org/oahu.

* For Broadcast-quality footage of solutions for cleaner beachwater, go here: http://vimeo.com/album/262783.*

The Natural Resources Defense Council is a national, nonprofit organization of scientists, lawyers and environmental specialists dedicated to protecting public health and the environment. Founded in 1970, NRDC has 1.3 million members and online activists, served from offices in New York, Washington, Chicago, Livingston, MT, Los Angeles, San Francisco and Beijing.

The Surfrider Foundation is an environmental non-profit organization dedicated to the protection and enjoyment of the world's oceans, waves and beaches through conservation, activism, research and education (CARE). Founded in 1984, the Surfrider Foundation has over 50,000 members and more than 80 chapters across the country. Surfrider has four chapters in Hawaii (Oahu, Maui, Kauai and Kona) that hold monthly beach cleanups and meetings. Our members work to preserve clean water and beach access and promote responsible shoreline development and a reduction of single-use plastics and marine debris. For more info, go to www.surfrider.org/oahu.

Public Notification of Water Quality Results

The below article discusses the inconsistencies in public notification of beach monitoring results between three counties in New Jersey. There are similar inconsistencies nationwide, with some states posting or closing a beach after one bad (high bacteria) sample, and others only taking action after a second bad sample – often 2-3 days after the original sample. In California, although beaches are posted with health advisories after one bad sample, beaches are only closed if there is evidence of a sewer spill, regardless of the bacteria level. Other states, including New Jersey (except Monmouth County) and Florida only take action after a second sample. That action also varies by state – closure in NJ, an advisory in FL.

Water quality monitoring a top priority as rain gives way to clearing at beaches

Monmouth to post advisory if first test shows pollution; Ocean won't do same

By TODD B. BATES • ENVIRONMENTAL WRITER • June 2, 2010

It's a near picture-perfect day as the crew aboard the single-prop Cessna airplane looked for trouble in the

ocean below.

Outfitted with a light-based sensor to detect algae, which can cloud the water and lead to fish kills, the plane

gently cruises over the surf off Monmouth County.

As the plane flies past Manasquan Inlet, Virginia Loftin, a state research scientist, spots some floating trash

near the southern end.

"I don't know where that might have come from,'' said Loftin, a longtime state Department of Environmental

Protection staffer who oversees the state-county-local beach water monitoring program. "There's always

the possibility that some boater dumped his garbage.''

In some areas along the coast, the water looks foamy or brownish, perhaps from algae or churned up

sediment.

Overall, Loftin said the water "looks OK.''

With the 2010 beach season arriving this weekend, officials are monitoring the waters and hope oil from the BP

spill in the Gulf of Mexico doesn't spoil the summer.

There's a slight chance that oil could appear, probably in the form of tar balls, according to experts.

Meanwhile, both environmental activists and officials say beach-water quality in general depends on the

weather, with rainfall boosting pollution from runoff.

Again this year, Monmouth County will take the extra precaution of posting warning signs at beaches at

the first hint of pollution. But officials in Ocean and Cape May counties don't plan to follow Monmouth's lead.

Instead, they will follow state rules that call for two tests over 48 hours before action is taken. In short, this

means unwary swimmers risk exposure to harmful bacteria and viruses that can make them sick.

The most common illness from polluted waters is gastroenteritis, an inflammation of the stomach and

intestines that can cause vomiting, headaches and fever. Other minor illnesses include ear, eye, nose and

throat infections.

Martin Connie, principal registered environmental health specialist in the Atlantic City Health Department, said

he likes the idea of posting an advisory sign after one high count, and it would be considered.

Patricia Diamond, health officer in the Atlantic County Division of Public Health, said the oceanfront area

covered by the division has never gotten a second high bacteria count. But the division would ban bathing at a

beach after one high count if it believes there is a pollution problem, according to Diamond.

Late last summer, officials in Monmouth County began posting their own advisory signs at beaches after an

initial test showed high levels of fecal bacteria, indicators of potentially harmful pollution, in the water.

"That's, of course, what we've been calling for for years, and it's nice to see that it's finally happening,'' said

John Weber of Bradley Beach, a surfer and northeast regional manager for the Surfrider

Foundation, a nonprofit environmental group. "It's definitely more protective of the public health.''

William Simmons, environmental health coordinator in the Monmouth County Health Department, said the

four health agencies in the county that began posting signs last summer "got nothing but positive feedback from

the public.''

Activists want state officials to better protect beachgoers from polluted water and increase monitoring. Officials say

they're working on amendments to state rules and looking into additional monitoring.

In Monmouth County last year, officials closed various beaches to swimming a total of 114 times,

according to the DEP. If, for example, five beaches were closed just for a day, that would count as five lost

beach days.

Nearly all of the swimming bans … 108 … were precautionary after rainfall at four beaches near the ocean outfall from polluted Wreck Pond in Spring Lake and Sea Girt.

In Ocean County, no ocean beaches had to be closed to swimming due tobacteria.

But a beach in Long Beach Township was closed for three days as a precaution after a pleasure boat sank,

releasing debris, according to the DEP. And an Island Beach State Park beach was closed for a day as a precaution

after an unarmed torpedo washed up.

Some of the many bay beaches in Monmouth and Ocean counties were closed for a day a total 56 times last

year, largely because of high bacteria levels or as a precaution following rain.

Beachwater testing

Under the state-coordinated Cooperative Coastal Monitoring Program, county and local health

officials take ocean, bay and tidal river samples on Mondays and results come back the next day.

If levels of fecal enterococci bacteria hit more than 104 per 100 milliliters of water at a beach, officials take more

samples and results come back in 24 hours. If bacteria levels remain high, officials close the beach to swimming

until counts drop.Last year, four health agencies in Monmouth County asked the state Department of Health and Senior

Services to amend its rules covering beachwater testing to allow officials to post advisory signs warning of pollution.

The agencies include the county health department, Monmouth County Regional Health Commission No. 1 and the Long Branch and Middletown health departments.

Agency officials thought a 48-hour wait to close a beach was too long, said Simmons, of the county health

department.

In July, the DEP said state health department rules do not prohibit local health agencies from posting

advisories at bathing beaches.

Loftin, the DEP research scientist, said it's up to county and local health departments to decide whether to post

advisory signs. But the DEP supports health agencies that choose to do so, she said.

In Ocean County, however, officials do not plan to post advisories at beaches after getting initial high

counts of bacteria, said Leslie Terjesen, county health department spokeswoman.

"We follow the (state) code,'' she said. "We don't close the beaches. The municipalities close the beaches'' after

two days of high counts.

Meanwhile, the state health department has "not yet offered local health departments any guidance on

the upcoming beach season but plan to do so before the season begins,'' according to spokeswoman MarilynRiley.

As of last week, the department had not issued any guidance.

The department's goal is to propose rule amendments by late summer or early fall, she said in an email.

Cindy Zipf, executive director of Clean Ocean Action, a Sandy Hook-based environmental coalition, said "The

program we have right now is woefully inadequate. The old rules can literally make you sick because.... They're not

providing full information in a timely manner.''

This story originally published First

In Print in the May 30, 2010 edition

of The Sunday Press.

Todd B. Bates: 732-643-4237;

tbates@app.com; www.twitter.

com/ToddBBatesAPP

Collecting Information on Ocean Illness in New Jersey

The Jersey Shore Chapter of the Surfrider Foundation has recently added an ocean illness form to their website to complement their BWTF water testing program. Joe Mairo, a Surfrider member and high school biology teacher that leads one of the Chapter's student run water testing programs, speaks to the local media about the new website and the chapter's experience with local incidences of illness caused by exposure to polluted water. Story below.

NJ biology teacher finds high bacteria levels in water near Wreck Pond, documents results online

By MaryAnn Spoto/The Star-Ledger

April 20, 2010, 5:31PM

WRECK POND -- It started with a small cut on his right leg.

A day after he went surfing in Asbury Park, Joe Mairo’s leg began to swell. Two days later, he was in the hospital with a serious staph infection.

Although Mairo has no proof, he can’t help but wonder if the cloudy water in which he was surfing that October day last year caused his infection.

For decades, surfers like Mairo have long suspected they’ve contracted all kinds of illnesses from their exposure to high levels of fecal coliform. Now they want to document their experiences on the internet to try to prove their theory.

"I remember sitting in the water and thinking ‘this is gross,’" the 32-year-old Bradley Beach resident said. "All those variables are out there for what I had, so it makes me a little unsure. (But) there are other cases where it’s really clear-cut."

Mairo said he can’t definitively link his illness — which turned out to be a MRSA infection — to the ocean water because he worked out at the same high school gym where wrestlers also had the methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus infection.

But Mairo, a biology and environmental science teacher at Wall Township High School, said some of his students have had more convincing cases, including ear infections or nausea almost immediately after surfing.

As part of the class curriculum, Mairo and his students conduct water-quality testing on samples taken from the ocean in Sea Girt and Spring Lake near an outfall pipe that flows from nearby Wreck Pond. The pond has had so many instances of high levels of fecal coliform that the state Department of Environmental Protection automatically closes beaches near the pond in the summer after heavy rainfalls as a precaution.

The students’ testing, conducted during the months the local health departments don’t test, occasionally have shown high levels of the bacteria.

"We definitely see when water temperatures are up and we get a rain, the bacteria levels are high," he said.

So Mairo suggested the Surfrider Foundation, of which he is a member, start a website at njoceanillness.org to collect the experiences of surfers and other people who suspect they’ve gotten sick from exposure to high fecal coliform levels.

With the website, the group will be able to determine whether any patterns emerge and present the evidence to state and local officials, said John Weber, the foundation’s East Coast regional manager.

To weed out phony stories, the donors have to identify themselves and be willing to testify to their experiences, Mairo said.

Weber said the advocacy group has heard anecdotes for years about surfers’ illnesses, from sore throats to ear infections and even worse, but noted there haven’t been any attempts to document them

"State and local health departments aren’t collecting it, so the (New Jersey) chapter is going to,’’ he said.

More Testing Sites in Kaua'i

The Surfrider Chapter on Kaua'i has been asking the State of Hawaii to cover more beaches and post warning signs at beaches contaminated with bacterial pollution for years now. On the first count they have had some success, as the State DOH has expanded their beach sampling plan to include a popular surf spot and other known bacterial hot spots. The State still hesitates to post any new warning signs, however, until the source of pollution is identified. Unfortunately, not a very precautionary stance to take.

The Chapter's BWTF program continues to sample on Hawaii and to petition the DOH to pay more attention to Kaua'i beach water pollution problems. They hope that not only will the public have more water quality information available to them before they hit the beach, but that the sources of pollution can identified and fixed.

The latest story in an ongoing series on water quality in Kaua'i follows.

DOH to expand water sampling

Coco Zickos - The Garden Island | Posted: Sunday, February 21, 2010 12:30 am

• Editor’s note: This is the eighth article in an ongoing series that examines Kaua‘i water quality.

LIHU‘E — The state Department of Health recently announced its intention to expand the number of water quality testing sites on Kaua‘i, including the popular Westside surf spot Pakala, according to an e-mail from Judy Kern at the Hawai‘i DOH Communications Office on Friday.

Also known as bacteria hot-spots, four sites fronting Pakala Camp and one site west of the village, have been monitored since Feb. 9, Kern said.

“If we determine that the high enterococcus levels are due to human fecal contamination, we will post signage at the beach and possibly the surf site to advise the public,” she said.

Though the source of contamination is inconclusive, the large capacity cesspools remaining on Gay & Robinson property are in the process of being replaced, DOH Deputy Director Laurence Lau said Friday.

The Environmental Protection Agency outlawed large capacity cesspools that service 20 or more people during a 24-hour time period in Hawai‘i on April 5, 2005.

“They are overdue to be closed and replaced,” Lau said Friday.

The DOH Kaua‘i Clean Water Branch has been working with Gay & Robinson to “resolve issues of large capacity cesspools on their property,” Kern said. Twenty septic tanks have been installed at Camp 6 and they “will continue with installations at the ‘Avenue’ and Pakala Camp.”

The process “takes time and money,” Kern added in the e-mail. “The other alternative is to shut down the camps, but such action will displace elderly retirees and create additional social issues within the community.”

Alan Kennett, president of Gay & Robinson, has declined to comment on the remaining large capacity cesspools on property.

Lau said high counts of enterococcus (a bacteria commonly found in the feces of humans and animals) does “not necessarily mean human sewage.”

“We need to do more testing,” he said.

Kaua‘i Surfrider Foundation agrees that more testing should be conducted. The nonprofit’s Blue Water Task Force collects water samples on a monthly basis across the island.

Two sites have “consistently exceeded Hawai‘i Administrative Rules’ water quality standards,” said Surfrider’s water quality expert Dr. Carl Berg. They are Pakala and Nawiliwili Stream.

The nonprofit officially filed a complaint with the DOH on Wednesday regarding the public’s safety at the two heavily frequented recreational water locations which contain chronically high levels of bacteria.

Large capacity cesspools “near the old sugar camp and the other near a stream bed” are a health concern, the Surfrider letter states.

“Another area of concern is Nawiliwili Stream which empties into Kalapaki Bay by the Marriott Hotel and the Kaua‘i County Beach Park,” Berg said. The stream is known to contain high levels of Clostridium, Enterococcus, fRNA, and Somatic RNA — all found in sewage.

The area is of “special concern,” as children frequently “play in the stream at its mouth,” the “stream water drains directly in front of the county park and out into the very popular surfbreak” and “at times the stream water moves along the shoreline and contaminates the beach fronting the Marriott hotel,” Berg said.

The DOH is expected to also begin conducting “special sampling” at Nawiliwilii Stream, according to Kern.

“Many streams in the state have high enterococcus counts,” she said. “In this case, the area (Nawiliwili) is located near a popular beach and surf site. The area has been the scene of sewage spills, a sink hole, and receives storm water runoff from the surrounding area including Lihu‘e town.”

A warning sign should be installed at the mouth of the stream, Berg said.

“We think it is long past time to warn the public about the possible public health risks of this stream while a waste water assessment, or other such study to determine the cause of the continually high levels of fecal indicating bacteria, is completed,” he said.