&EFA United States Environmental Protection Agency EPA's BEACH Report: Alaska 2011 Swimming Season September 2012 EPA820-F-12-047 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. This fact sheet highlights the data submitted to EPA by the State of Alaska for the 2011 swimming season. 2011 Swimming Season Monitoring and Notification Actions Alaska monitored three coastal beaches in three communities during the 2011 swimming season (Figure 1 and Table 1). When monitoring results at swimming beaches show that levels of specific indicator bacteria in the water exceed applicable water quality standards, Alaska officials issue a beach advisory, warning people of possible risks of swimming. How many beaches had notification actions? In 2011, none of the 3 coastal beaches that Alaska monitored had a notification action (Figure 2). This is consistent with previous years. Figure 1. Alaska coastal communities. Table 1. Number of monitored and unmonitored coastal beaches for 2011. Community NAKNEK DILLINGHAM JUNEAU TOTALS Total Beaches 1 1 1 3 Monitored 1 1 1 3 Not Monitored 0 0 0 0 ------- Figure 2: Percent of beaches with one or more notification actions Figure 4: Percent of beach days open and safe for swimming 2011 I 0% 2010 I 0% 2009 I 0% 2008 I 0% 2007 I 0% Figure 3: Duration of beach notification actions in 2011 0 days 100% How many notification actions were issued and how long did they last? Alaska issued no notification actions during the 2011 swimming season. If an action were to occur, Alaska would lift the action when follow-up monitoring indicates that water quality complies with applicable standards. In 2011 Alaska beaches were deemed safe for swimming 100 percent of the time (Figure 3). What percentage of days were beaches under a notification action? EPA calculates the total available beach days and the number of beach days with notification actions to better track trends over time. Total available beach days are determined by multiplying the 2011 2010 2009 2008 2007 To the Beach V |§To the Beach V MTo the Beach \ To the Beach } To the Beach 1 100% 100% 100% 100% 100% length of the beach season by the number of beaches in the state. For 2011 EPA calculated that 270 beach days were associated with the swimming seasons of the 3 monitored Alaska beaches. Alaska reported notification actions on 0 days, meaning that beaches were open and safe for swimming 100 percent of the time. This continues the trend of 100 percent open beach days (Figure 4). For More Information For information about the Alaska beach program contact: Jim Powell Department of Environmental Conservation Tel: 907-451-2881 e-mail: jim powell@dec.state.ak.us For general information about beaches visit: http://water.epa.gov/type/oceb/beaches/. For information about a specific beach visit: http://watersgeo.epa.gov/beacon2/. ------- |