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Department of Ecology News Release - Oct. 6, 2003
03-195
OLYMPIA - Is the water quality at your local beach safe for swimming? How would you know? And furthermore, which beaches should be monitored?
The state departments of Ecology and Health are getting ready to pick 60 saltwater beaches to monitor for bacterial contamination, out of more than 500 along Puget Sound and the Washington coast. And they are asking for the public's help in making the selection.
"We have a unique opportunity to check the water quality at some of the more popular marine beaches in Washington, but we don't have enough money to monitor all of them," said Lynn Schneider, who is coordinating the Beach Program for Ecology. "Picking which beaches will get monitored is an important decision, and it would help to know which ones the public wants to know more about."
Four meetings are being held in Western Washington to share information and obtain public comment. All four meetings will last from 7 to 8:30 p.m.
Schneider said the beach monitoring will focus on bacterial contamination that can make people sick. Monitoring results will be shared with the public to help reduce the risk of bacterial illness for those who use Washington's saltwater recreational beaches.
Various state and county agencies and the Surfrider Foundation are working with Ecology and Health to develop the program, using funding from the federal Environmental Protection Agency.
For more information about the Beach Program or to share your thoughts about which beaches to monitor, contact Lynn Schneider at 360-407-6543 or lysc461@ecy.wa.gov.
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Media contact: Sheryl Hutchison, Communication Director, 360-407-7004
Copyright © Washington State Department of Ecology. See http://www.ecy.wa.gov/copyright.html.
