EPA's BEACH Report:
Maine 2008 Swimming Season
May 2009
Introduction
The BEACH Act of 2000 requires that coastal and
Great Lakes states and territories report to EPA on
beach monitoring and notification data for their
coastal recreation waters. The BEACH Act defines
coastal recreation waters as the Great Lakes and
coastal waters (including coastal estuaries) that
states, territories, and authorized tribes officially
recognize or designate for swimming, bathing,
surfing, or similar activities in the water.
This fact sheet summarizes beach monitoring and
notification data submitted to EPA by the State of
Maine for the 2008 swimming season.
The Maine Healthy Beaches (MHB) Program began
in 2002 and has recruited new coastal beaches into
the program each year. This is a voluntary program
for Maine communities which are supported by
the MHB Program staff and partnering agencies.
The MHB Program experienced a lower number
of advisories and closures in 2008 compared to
2007. Several beaches have demonstrated improved
water quality over the past few years due to the
MHB Program special studies, sanitary surveys,
and actions taken at the local level. The biggest
improvements have been a result of addressing
malfunctioning subsurface wastewater disposal
systems (i.e. septic systems) and improvements to
stormwater systems.
The MHB Program has also been assisting
towns with further assessment of the freshwater
tributaries contributing to poor beach water
quality and identification of pollution sources.
This effort has brought together local and state
officials, partnering state agencies, non-profits
and citizens with a focus of shared resources and
problem solving. The MHB Program is committed
to continuing this focus with priority towns, and
improving beach management tools including
routine assessment, notification, and data analysis.
Figure 1. Maine coastal counties.
Cumberls
Table 1. Breakdown of monitored and
unmonitored coastal beaches by
county for 2008.
County
CUMBERLAND
HANCOCK
KNOX
LINCOLN
SAGADAHOC
WALDO
YORK
TOTALS
Total
Beaches
9
5
3
1
7
2
33
60
Monitored
9
5
3
1
7
2
33
60
Not
Monitored
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
-------
2008 Summary Results
How many notification actions were reported and
how long were they?
When water quality standards are exceeded at a
particular beach, Maine's approach is to issue a beach
advisory that warns people to avoid contact with the
ocean water. A total of 22 monitored beaches had at
least one advisory issued during the 2008 swimming
season. About 38 percent of Maine's 34 notification
actions lasted two days or less. Figure 2 presents a full
breakdown of notification action durations.
What percentage of days were beaches under a
notification action?
For Maine's 2008 swimming season, actions were
reported about 3 percent of the time (Figure 3).
How do 2008 results compare to previous years?
Table 2 compares 2008 notification action data with
monitored beach data from previous years.
What pollution sources possibly impact
investigated monitored beaches?
Maine reports that the MHB Program is actively
working toward identification and remediation of
pollution sources with the affected communities
through special studies and sanitary surveys. The
nonpoint sources of pollution affecting Maine's
coastal beaches have not been quantified.
For More Information
For general information about beaches:
www.epa.gov/beaches/
For information about beaches in Maine:
www.MaineHealthyBeaches.org
Figure 2: Beach notification actions by duration.
16
2 3-7 8-30
Duration of Actions (days)
>30
Figure 3: Beach days with
and without
notification
actions.
Beach days
with an action:
174
(3%)
Beach days
with no action
5,706
(97%)
Table 2. Beach notification actions, 2006-2008.
Number of monitored
beaches
Number of beaches
affected by notification
actions
Percentage of beaches
affected by notification
actions
Percentage of beach
days affected by
notification actions
2006
43
19
44%
4%
2007
58
30
52%
3%
2008
60
22
37%
3%
------- |