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Department of Ecology News Release - May 1, 2006
06-073
OLYMPIA - As the weather starts to get warmer, Washington residents will be starting to think more about using the state's beaches. The state departments of Ecology and Health are taking advantage of this increased attention to ask beachgoers to comment on which beaches should be checked weekly for bacterial contamination.
"We want to make sure we monitor the most popular beaches," said Lynn Schneider, coordinator of the BEACH (Beach Environmental Assessment, Communication and Health) Program. "We have enough funding to check 70 beaches, so we need to focus our attention where it will provide the most benefit."
Last year, Ecology and Health were able to track water quality for 75 beaches, thanks in part to volunteers who pitched in to help. Each year, the departments modify the list of monitored beaches as they discover that some beaches are cleaner than others. At the same time, they want to keep track of the beaches the public is most likely to use among the more than 900 along Puget Sound and the Washington coast.
"The monitoring will focus on bacterial contamination from waste water treatment plant or septic system failures, pet waste, and fecal pollution from unknown sources that can make people sick," Schneider said.
Various state and county agencies and the Surfrider Foundation are working with Ecology and Health to sample the beaches and notify the public of the results, using funding from the federal Environmental Protection Agency.
The BEACH Program has created a new Web site to help inform the public about the status of water conditions at the state's beaches, facts about recreational water illnesses, and links to resources for more detailed information. The new Web site is located at http://www.ecy.wa.gov/programs/eap/beach/ .
Residents are invited to comment on the departments' draft list of beaches through May 15th. A list is available at http://www.ecy.wa.gov/programs/eap/beach/beachlist.html .
Written comments or questions about the program can be sent to lysc461@ecy.wa.gov or mailed to Lynn Schneider, Department of Ecology, P.O. Box 47710, Olympia, Wash., 98504-7600.
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Media contact: Glenn Kuper, Ecology Public Information Officer, 360-407-6848
BEACH Program Web site: http://www.ecy.wa.gov/programs/eap/beach/
Copyright © Washington State Department of Ecology. See http://www.ecy.wa.gov/copyright.html.
