Findings
Confusing Information
FINDING: Indicator information can be confusing.
One study indicates that 60% of the shoreline in California is publicly owned;
another that approximately 42% of the shoreline is publicly owned and accessible.
One study indicates that in North Carolina there is one public access site
for about every 16 miles of shoreline; another that there is a public beach
access point for every 1.2 miles of coastline. The percentage of publicly
owned coastline in Connecticut has been reported as 36% and 20% in two different
studies.
In Washington, one study indicates that 25% of the shoreline is publicly
owned; another report states that 39% of Washington's tidelands and 70% of
the shorelands remains in public ownership. One study indicates that Washington
has one public access site for every 3.5 miles of shoreline; another that
there is one public beach access site every 5.3 miles.
The Fall 1997 South Carolina Sea Grant Coastal Heritage Publication Armoring the Coast: Beachfront Battles over Seawalls states that 80% of Georgia’s shoreline is armored. Although there is unquestionably a lot of shoreline armoring in Georgia this number seems high and Surfrider Foundation has been unable to verify it.
Comparing water quality and beach closure information between states and
among local jurisdictions is difficult due to inconsistencies in test methods,
frequency of testing, closure and advisory standards, notification procedures,
and terminology. Although the federal BEACH Act is designed to eliminate
some of these inconsistencies, many are likely to remain for some time. Even
within a state, two reports may give substantially different information.
NRDC's Testing the Waters Report says that beach closures and advisories
in California for 2005, 2006 and 2007 were 5199, 4644 and 4736, respectively. Checking the State Water Resources Control Board's Beach Watch Web site yields completely different numbers - much higher numbers for "postings and closures" and much lower numbers for "beach mile days."
Examples of ambiguous information exist for all of the beach health indicators.
It is not necessarily that one study is accurate and another study is wrong.
Different studies measure slightly different things, or use the same language
to describe different things. This can make the results inconsistent.
Other common problems with information are that it is often dated or the
information is difficult to interpret. Water quality indicator information
is a good example. Due to limitations of the testing methods, results are
typically not available until at least 24 hours after the sampling event.* Then if the
agency wishes to collect a second sample to confirm a high result (common
in many states), another day is lost before the result is known and a beach
is posted. A pervasive problem is the need to simplify complex information
for public decision makers, such how to address erosion problems in the most
efficient and cost effective manner, addressing immediate problems in ways
that don't create more serious problems in the future. |