c^
O
EPA's BEACH Report:
2009 Swimming Season
May 2010
EPA 820-F-10-003
Introduction
The Beaches Environmental Assessment and Coastal Health (BEACH) Act of 2000
authorizes EPA to provide grants to coastal and Great Lakes states, territories, and
eligible tribes to monitor their coastal beaches for bacteria that indicate the possible
presence of disease-causing pathogens, and to notify the public when there is a potential
risk to public health. The BEACH Act requires that recipients of those grants report
their coastal beach monitoring and notification data to EPA, and that EPA maintain an
electronic database of that data, accessible to the public, so that they can make informed
choices about where to swim. To further our commitment to reducing the risk of
exposure to disease-causing pathogens at recreational beaches, EPA is posting the latest
data about beach closings and advisories for the 2009 swimming season. This fact sheet
also highlights recent developments in EPA's Beach Program.
Figure 1. Coastal states with 2009 monitored beach data.
Grand Portage Tribe: 10
Makah Tribe: 5
-------
2009 Swimming Season Results
When monitoring results at swimming beaches
show that levels of certain bacteria in the water
exceed standards, states, territories, and tribes
may notify the public by issuing a beach advisory,
warning people of possible risks of swimming,
or they may close a beach to public swimming.
The data reported here consist primarily of
precautionary advisories and closures issued as a
result of local monitoring.
How many beaches had notification actions?
For the 2009 swimming season, all thirty coastal
states, five territories, and two tribes reported their
beach monitoring and notification data to EPA
(Figure 1). In 2009, of the 3,819 coastal beaches
that were monitored, 1,642 (43 percent) had at least
one advisory or closure (Figure 2). The increase in
beaches with actions can be attributed to increased
monitoring, a wetter swimming season in the
Northeast, and the inclusion this year of actions
due to county-wide preemptive rainfall advisories.
How many notification actions were reported
and how long were they?
States and territories reported 6,203 notification
actions during the 2009 swimming season. Most
(88 percent) lasted a week or less (Figure 3). Sixty
percent (3,719 actions) lasted just one or two days.
What percentage of days were beaches under
a notification action?
EPA calculates the total available beach days
and the number of beach days with advisories
or closures to better track trends over time. To
calculate total available beach days, we sum the
length of each state's and territory's beach season
multiplied by the number of beaches in the state
or territory. For 2009, EPA determined there were
a total of 764,377 beach days associated with the
swimming seasons of 3,819 monitored beaches.
Notification actions were reported on 36,043 days
(Figure 4), meaning that beaches were under an
advisory or closed about 5 percent of the time,
similar to the previous three years (Table 1).
Figure 2: No. of beaches with notification
actions from 2007 to 2009.
1,642
2009
Figure 3: Duration of beach notification actions
from 2007 to 2009.
1 - 2 Days 3 - 7 Days 8 - 30 Days :
Duration of Actions (days)
30 Days
Figure 4: Percentage of beach days under
notification actions from 2007 to 2009.
Days with
an action
(5%)
Days with
an action
(5%)
Days with
no actions
(95%)
Days with
an action
(5%)
Days with
no actions
(95%)
2007
2008
2009
-------
Table 1. Data collected on beaches, advisories, and closings.
2006 2007 2008 2009
3'771 3'647 3'740 3'819
Number of beaches
affected by advisories 1,201 1,184 1,210 1,642
or closings
Percentage of beaches
affected by advisories 32% 32% 32% 43%
or closings
Percentage of beach days
affected by advisories or 5% 5% 5% 5%
closings
10th Anniversary of the BEACH Act
2010 marks the 10th anniversary of the BEACH Act of 2000. In one decade, EPA
implementation of the BEACH Act has substantially enhanced the capacity of state
and local partners to design and implement beach programs to protect the health of
swimmers in our coastal recreation waters. Each of these 37 states, territories, and tribes
has significantly improved its monitoring and public notification at beaches since 2000,
with the number of monitored beaches increasing from about 1,000 in 1997 to more than
3,800 in 2009. In addition, all these 37 states, territories and tribes have water quality
standards for bacteria that are as protective of human health as EPA's current bacteria
criteria—three times the number in 2000.
EPA Beach Program Activities
Funding to State Programs
Since 2001, EPA has made available nearly $92 million in grants to 37 coastal and Great
Lakes states, territories and tribes. The funds are designed to help improve water quality
monitoring and public information programs to alert beachgoers about the health of
their beaches. Beach water quality monitoring helps to ensure that the public receives
information on how to protect their health when visiting beaches. Results are used to
issue warnings and closures if indicators of pathogens are at unsafe levels and to help
identify actions needed to reduce pollution.
The Agency encourages eligible tribes to contact their Regional EPA beach coordinators
to learn more about BEACH Act grants. For a list of Regional beach coordinators visit:
www.epa.gov/waterscience/beaches/contact.html
Great Lakes Restoration Initiative
The President's Great Lakes Restoration Initiative provides $475 million to address
the most significant problems in the Great Lakes, including a potential $120 million in
targeted grants to an expected 400 projects. Some of these projects will improve beach
management and public health protection through identification and reduction of beach
water contamination sources, improved beach water quality monitoring methods, near
real-time beach water quality notifications, more accurate forecasts, and improved
communication of beach health information to the public.
-------
Deve/opmenf of New or Revised Water Quality Criteria for Recreational Waters
EPA is conducting critical science and research in order to publish new or revised
recreational water quality criteria by October 2012. Last summer EPA completed data
collection for two beach epidemiological studies, one in tropical waters and the other in
marine waters impacted by urban runoff. EPA is also researching improved monitoring
techniques such as rapid testing methods, compiling available predictive models, and
investigating effective uses of sanitary surveys to diagnose and improve the health of
beaches. The new or revised criteria recommendations EPA develops would replace the
criteria recommendations issued in 1986 and will be used by states, tribes and territories in
their adoption of new water quality standards to protect people from illness associated with
fecal contamination in water.
National Beach Conference
EPA's Beach Program strives to ensure public health protection at beaches and to improve
the accuracy and timeliness of notification actions. To support this goal, EPA is sponsoring
its next National Beach Conference in the spring of 2011. This biannual conference brings
together researchers, practitioners, and policymakers from around the world to discuss water
quality at beaches. Conference registration and additional information will be posted on our
Web site, www.epa.gov/waterscience/beaches/meetings.
For More Information
For general information about beaches visit:
www.epa.gov/beaches/
For information about a specific beach:
www.epa.gov/waterscience/beacon/
------- |