From Newport News-Times, May 11, 2003

State's ocean water quality testing program to begin

By Terry Dillman
Of the Newport News-Times

Testing the water quality of recreational beaches along the Oregon coast to protect public health is the focus of a new state program initiated as part of the requirements of the federal Beach Environmental Assessment and Coastal Health Act of 2000 - an amendment to the Clean Water Act of 1977.

"This act mandates all coastal states to adopt nearshore water quality standards, and to develop and implement a nearshore water quality monitoring program," said Dave Revell, field coordinator for the Surfrider Foundation's Oregon Chapter.

Revell and fellow members of Surfriders - which dubs itself as a non-profit environmental organization "dedicated to the protection and enhancement of the world's waves and beaches" through conservation, activism, research, and education - have pushed to get the state to follow through with the process.

"Oregon is the only coastal state in the country that is still without a state-sponsored ocean water quality monitoring program," Revell noted in an April 21 letter to state agency directors and staff members.

According to Revell, the Oregon Department of Human Services and Department of Environmental Quality received $60,000 from the Environmental Protection Agency in 2002 to design and implement an ocean water monitoring program. Those funds derived from the federal BEACH Act allotment for the state.

DHS and DEQ hired an Oregon State University graduate student and conducted a few meetings with the Surfrider Foundation to discuss a plan and beach selection. They tested 26 beaches, 12 of which showed signs of bacteria and fecal pollution.

"This one round of testing occurred after the tourist season and before the rains started, and hints at the true quality of ocean water in which our citizens are recreating and our seafood is living," said Revell.

State officials say they were working on the program - dubbed Beach Environmental Assessment, Communication, and Health or BEACH - but the state budget crisis and resulting cutbacks in state staff in DHS and DEQ, the departments charged with administering the program delayed the process. A preliminary plan and interagency agreement for sampling is now in place, a program coordinator and research analyst will soon begin full-time efforts, and officials are busy gathering public input, either in writing or at public meetings.

One of the first public meetings - held in Lincoln City at the beginning of May - drew about a dozen people, among them several Surfrider members, including Revell.

Michael Bergman and Erica Buckner from DHS, and Greg Pettit from DEQ were on hand to outline what has been done so far, to describe the program and its goals, and to listen to public comment about sampling sites, location, and frequency, as well as public notification and risk communication.

Buckner said Oregon's BEACH program will test water quality of coastal recreational beaches by testing for bacteria levels and issuing warnings or even closing beaches where health risks to humans are significant. "This will help reduce health risks to your family by minimizing your exposure to disease-causing microorganisms in the water where you swim or play," she added.

Swallowing bacteria-contaminated water can cause illnesses, with symptoms ranging from mild to severe, depending on concentrations and length of exposure. Possible bacteria sources include sewage treatment plants, boating waste, malfunctioning septic systems, and animal waste runoff from farms.

"We're just getting started," Buckner noted. "We will determine more sites for next year to cover as much of the coast as possible."

DEQ has already mapped out the coast and selected 53 sites for sampling from May through September of 2003. They based the selection on the amount of time people spend in the water, the average number of beach users, and the types of pollution sources nearby. Of those, 19 - or more than a third - are in Lincoln County.

According to Buckner and Pettit, those beaches are divided into three groups.

Tier 1 are those considered at highest risk and require weekly monitoring. Only three appear on the list - none in Lincoln County. Tier 2, which features lower risk beaches that are sampled every other week, includes Agate Beach, Beverly Beach, "D" River Wayside, Fogarty Creek State Park, Nelscott Beach, Neptune State Park, Nye Beach, Ona Beach, Otter Rock, Road's End, Siletz Bay, South Beach State Park, Yachats Ocean Road State Wayside, and Yaquina Bay State Park. Tier 3 - scheduled for once-a-month sampling - includes Beachside State Park, Gleneden Beach State Park, Governor Patterson Memorial State Park, Heceta Beach, and Moolack Beach.

The program also seeks to establish water quality standards for beaches, and look at ways to remedy trouble spots by finding the potential source of pollution and reducing or removing it.

"We never adopted a water contact standard for marine waters. Part of the program involves setting and adopting marine standards - not use freshwater standards - to determine when a beach would be closed or a warning put up," Pettit said. "Keep in mind that bacteria occur naturally, so we won't get rid of them completely."

Preliminary samples were taken last August and October. The first rainfall of autumn generally yields the highest concentrations of bacteria, according to Pettit, who noted that the data they have compiled so far represents worst case scenarios.

"Bacteria is highly variable in the environment in location and over time," he added. "The highest concentrations appear at drains - where creeks mix with salt water - and places where birds congregate."

Still, historic information on Oregon coast water quality is scarce, with much of it derived from testing by Surfrider volunteers through the organization's Blue Water Task Force, which now conducts tests at 17 sites along the coast. Other data derives from DEQ staff members who began testing in anticipation of BEACH funding.

Those preliminary tests showed 12 of 26 beaches with high levels of either fecal coliform, E. coli, or enterococcus bacteria.

Revell said the combined data show 22 of 30 beaches with some level of contamination.

"This evidence clearly demonstrates that the ocean off of Oregon is not nearly as clean and safe for recreational uses as we all thought," he added, noting that the worst of those readings were from Nelscott Beach off 35th Street in Lincoln City. Ona Beach at Tidal Creek, Siletz Bay Beach, "D" River Wayside, and Beverly Beach were also among the ten worst.

All of which points to the need for a beach monitoring program, which Pettit said the state - in collaboration with county agencies and other stakeholders - is now ready to administer. Along with the staff, they will have a mobile lab in place to travel to designated beaches to sample and test.

"We've been playing catch-up," he said. "We're about ready to click into a really fine program."

Oregon received $228,000 in federal funds for 2003. If the state meets its grant requirements, the 2004 allocation is $229,757. At full funding of the BEACH Act, Oregon stands to receive $800,000 in non-match federal funds.

Pettit and Bergman noted that the federal money is vital to maintaining the program. If it disappears, the program will, too.

Diversity is a key to making it all work. Revell suggested a partnership among all groups and individuals with a vital interest in the health of Oregon's coastal waters, and others recommended using volunteers to make the sampling efforts more comprehensive. Technical aspects stand in the way of bringing volunteers on board, at least for the moment.

"EPA's main thrust is a rigid technical regimen and following guidelines," said Bergman, noting that too much volunteer activity right away could hinder rather than help. "We need to nail down the core of the program first, then supplement later."

Pettit indicated that everything currently centers on accountability and forming the backbone of the program. But he believes adding a significant volunteer component will help in the long term.

"It's actually a way of getting more resources," he said. "It's potentially a great partnership that could work out really well."

Revell, who has helped lead the wave of support for an ocean water quality monitoring program, agreed.

"We believe vigilance and stewardship of our coastal resources contributes to a healthy recreation and tourism economy, as well as providing Oregonians with the beautiful and clean environment they deserve. They go hand in hand," Revell concluded. "Let's not have Oregon continue to be the last 'beach bum' in America."