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For Coastal Zone Managers
Surf Zone Water Quality
Below, examples pertaining to water quality follow an outline of the Surfrider Foundation's goals in this area.
Water Quality Goals
Monitoring
- Uniform statewide ocean water quality standards.
- At minimum, uniform monitoring that measures for total coliform, fecal coliform, and enterococcus (bacteriological indicators) on a daily basis, and ideally a real time response (i.e. accurate and up to date reporting and posting of beach closure data).
- A uniform monitoring program that measures for toxins, heavy metals, viruses, and other harmful pollutants.
- Regular reporting on water quality history, including analysis of patterns and trends.
- Public education about actions that affect water quality.
Sewage Treatment
- At a minimum, sufficient treatment to permit beneficial reuse of all sewage effluent, and ideally no dumping of sewage into the ocean.
- An accurate and up to date inventory of sewer outfalls.
Urban/Agricultural Runoff
- Pollution-free stormwater runoff.
- Pollution-free agricultural/forest runoff.
- An accurate and up to date inventory of storm drains.
Program Examples
CALIFORNIA
Increasing concern about beachwater quality prompted the approval of
Assembly Bill 411 (AB411, the Right To Know Bill), which was sponsored
by Assemblyman Howard Wayne. The bill amends the Health and Safety
Code of the State of California, which requires the State Department
of Health Services to develop statewide beachwater-quality criteria
and monitoring regulations. Weekly monitoring is required from April
to October at all beaches with more than 50,000 annual visitors or
at beaches located in areas adjacent to storm drains that flow during
the summer. Weekly monitoring actually began in July 1999, and has
been conducted again between April and October of each subsequent year.
Some counties continue testing year round. Weekly samples must be tested
for three indicator organisms: total coliform, fecal coliform, and
enterococcus. Beaches that fail to meet the state's criteria for any
one of the three indicators are to be posted with conspicuous warning
signs to notify the public of health risks associated with swimming
in these areas. The amendment also requires the establishment of a
24-hour telephone hotline to let beachgoers know daily which beaches
are polluted. In addition to regular monitoring, Los Angeles, Monterey
(initiated in 2000), Orange, San Diego, Santa Barbara, and Santa Cruz
Counties issue rainfall advisories.
On the legislative front, AB 1946, written by Assemblyman Howard Wayne,
was approved in 2000. AB 1946 is a follow-on bill to AB 411, and it
improves upon data collection requirements and public disclosure standards.
The bill took effect on January 1, 2001, and it will allow the state
to collect better information on the type of action taken when beach
testing uncovers pollution (i.e., advisories or closures) as well as
the specific source of the problem. Reports collected by the state
pursuant to AB 1946 are now available on the State Water Resources
Control Board's Web site:
http://www.swrcb.ca.gov/water_issues/programs/beaches/beach_surveys/index.shtml
The key agency responsible for water quality in California is the State
Water Resources Control Board. The Board's mission is to preserve,
enhance and restore the quality of California's water resources, and
ensure their proper allocation and efficient use for the benefit of
present and future generations. Their website is easy to navigate and
provides a vast amount of information regarding the regulations and
policies for the state's surface and ground waters. There are also
links to the nine Regional Water Quality Control Boards. The state
and regional water quality control boards can answer general questions
about water quality. For questions specific to your area, your local
water quality agency can provide the most accurate information.
California State Water Resources Control Board
http://www.swrcb.ca.gov
Regional Water Quality Control Boards
http://www.swrcb.ca.gov/regions.html
SWRCB laws and regulations are available at: http://www.swrcb.ca.gov/laws_regulations/
Assembly Bill 1946 was noted above. It requires the State Water Resources
Control Board (SWRCB) to post monthly beach data from coastal counties
throughout the state. The surveys list beach warnings, beach closures,
and rain advisories resulting from bacterial contamination. At the
end of each month, surveys are updated to reflect the most current
monthly health information, which is collected from county health officers.
At the end of June, the Board then compiles all data into an annual
report. These monthly and annual reports are posted in Adobe Acrobat
format on the SWRCB Beach Surveys, Closures, and Rain Advisories Web site.
AB411 requires that a conspicuous warning sign be posted at beaches
when a single weekly sample shows that any of three indicator organisms
are present above state standards. Closings and advisories are issued
on a discretionary basis.
CONNECTICUT
Connecticut has a comprehensive monitoring program for its coastal
waters. Standards and guidelines are set by the state, which also analyzes
the samples and monitors the four coastal state parks on Long Island
Sound. At least 18 municipalities in the state's four coastal counties
monitor their own beaches, following the ocean and bay beachwater-quality
monitoring protocol established by the Connecticut Department of Health
Services (DOHS) and the Connecticut Department of Environmental Protection
(DEP). Costs to municipalities are low because the DOHS tests samples
free of charge at its lab in Hartford.
The state's guidelines call for annual sanitary surveys and inspections
by local health departments and recommend weekly sampling of bathing
areas. When a single sample result exceeds the standards for bathing
water quality, a resample is taken and a survey conducted to determine
if raw or partially treated sewage is contributing to the elevated
bacteria count. A number of municipalities have adopted a rainfall
threshold. When this threshold is reached, beaches are automatically
closed until test results indicate there is no bacterial violation.
Fairfield and New Haven Counties report at least one type of preemptive
standard.
The CDEP samples and monitors four public beaches on Long Island Sound.
There are 24 coastal municipalities in Connecticut that conduct monitoring
for their coastal waters, encompassing a total of approximately 125
bathing areas (beaches). Monitoring results and beach closure data
from these municipalities are reported on a voluntary basis to the
DEP and the NRDC. Information on the status of municipal and private
beach must be obtained by contacting the municipal or regional health
department within whose jurisdiction the beach is located.
The CDEP's State Swimming Area Water quality report lists parks with
swimming areas and beaches that they test. Samples are collected weekly
by staff from CDEP's Water Management Bureau - Planning and Standards
Division, and are analyzed at a Department of Public Health lab. Local
health departments are responsible for routinely sampling their beaches
and swimming areas. For information on closures at these municipal
swimming areas contact the local public health agency. The status of
these areas can also be checked by calling (860) 424-3015 or by visiting
CDEP's Web site at http://www.depdata.ct.gov/water/waterquality/swimmingarea.asp
Here's the general beach monitoring Web site.
NEW JERSEY
New Jersey was the first state to have a statewide mandatory beach
protection program that includes a bacteria standard, a testing protocol,
and mandatory closure requirements whenever the bacteria standard is
exceeded. Since 1986, the New Jersey Department of Health, the New
Jersey Department of Environmental Protection, the county health departments
of all four Atlantic coastal counties as well as Middlesex County,
and seven local environmental health agencies have jointly run the
Cooperative Coastal Monitoring Program, sampling 225 ocean and bay
sites each week.
When routine monitoring shows bacterial concentrations above state
standards, resampling and testing is required. When consecutive samples
exceed the standard, beaches must be closed until a sample is obtained
that is within the standard. When high bacteria concentrations are
recorded at an ocean station, the sampling is extended linearly along
the beach to determine the extent of the problem and the pollution
source. This may result in an extension of the beach closing to contiguous
lifeguarded beaches.
In addition to regular beachwater monitoring for bacterial concentrations,
New Jersey officials also monitor using aerial surveillance to look
for illegal discharges or other visible water-quality problems. Furthermore,
to determine what conditions exist at the time of the standard's exceedance,
sanitary surveys are conducted each time a high bacteria level is recorded.
Preemptive closings/advisories based on threshold levels of rainfall
have been adopted by one recreational bay beach, L Street Beach at
the Shark River in Belmar. According to the DEP, this policy could be adopted at any
beach at the discretion of the public health officer with sufficient
documentation of the relationship of rainfall to ambient bacteria concentrations.
The New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection administers the
Cooperative Coastal Monitoring Program with the New Jersey Department
of Health and Senior Services and local environmental health agencies.
Recreational beach water quality monitoring is performed routinely
on Mondays and throughout the week as necessary at approximately 184 ocean monitoring
stations. Their Ocean Beach Information website is http://www.state.nj.us/dep/beaches
The NJ Department of Health, Department of Environmental Protection,
and local environmental health agencies jointly run the Cooperative
Coastal Monitoring Program. New Jersey's Cooperative Coastal Monitoring
Program incorporates measuring water quality and doing aerial surveys
to determine if there are any illegal discharges in coastal waters
or any visible water quality problems, such as algal blooms or malfunctioning
sewer lines or pumping stations. There are 180 water-quality testing
locations that coincide with recreational beaches along the state's
127 miles of oceanfront, and another 130 monitoring stations at bay
beaches.
Every Monday from May to September, water samples are taken and tested
for fecal coliform. Results are received within 24 hours, and if the
results are above 200 colony forming units, or CFU, per 100 milliliters,
the site is re-sampled. If the second test results are high, the beach
is automatically closed. Four beaches (East Tuna Way/Chadwick Beach,
Fielder Avenue - Ortley Beach, North Beach - Ortley Beach, and Shelter
Island) are monitored daily. In addition to resampling, a sanitary
survey is performed to look for visual signs of contamination or the
pollution source. Health officials have the discretion to close a beach
on one sample or no samples, using their professional judgment, but
it is mandatory when samples are bad consecutively that the beach be
dosed.
New Jersey law mandates that beaches be closed whenever the bacteria
standard is exceeded. From Memorial Day to Labor Day, a beach information
line is in service: (800) 648-SAND. Signs are also posted at beaches.
OREGON
Oregon's Beach Monitoring Program (OBMP) began on a limited scale in October
2002. The program commenced on a larger scale in June 2003 and was conducted
throughout the remainder of the year. Oregon's Department of Human Services,
Environmental Health Division operates the program. The program is run by The
Department of Environmental Toxicology Section Beach Monitoring Program and The
Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ). The website that describes the program,
the beaches tested, and the testing results has recently been updated.
http://egov.oregon.gov/DHS/ph/beaches/index.shtml
Beach water quality monitoring results (and much more coastline information) are also obtainable through the Oregon Coastal Atlas Web site.
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