t> r % ^£DSr^ o EPA's BEACH Report: Guam 2010 Swimming Season May 2011 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 territory of Guam for the 2010 swimming season. Figure 1. Guam. Table 1. Breakdown of monitored and unmonitored coastal beaches for 2010. Total Not Island Beaches Monitored Monitored TOTALS 31 31 0 ------- 2010 Summary Results How many beaches had notification actions? When water quality standards are exceeded at a particular beach, Guam requires beach managers to post an advisory or closure. An advisory warns people that there is an increased health risk associated with entering the water and a closure warns people to completely avoid contact with the water. Twenty-nine monitored beaches had at least one advisory issued during the 2010 swimming season. Figure 2 presents a full breakdown of notification actions. What percentage of days were beaches under a notification action? In 2010, about 40 percent of Guam's total beach days were under an advisory (Figure 3). How do 2010 results compare to previous years? Table 2 compares 2010 notification action data with monitored beach data from previous years. What pollution sources possibly affect investigated monitored beaches? Figure 4 displays the percentage of Guam's monitored beaches possibly affected by various pollution sources. In 2010, no pollution sources were found at 71 percent of the beaches. For More Information For general information about beaches: www.epa.gov/beaches/ Figure 2: Beach notification actions by duration. 600 -| 576 500. £ 400 o ^ 300" H— o o 200 " z 100" 43 n 0 12 u 1 2 _ 3-7 8-30 >30 Duration of Actions (days) Figure 3: Beach days with and without notification actions. Beach days with an action: 4,479 (39.6%) Table 2. Beach notification actions, 2008-2010. Beach days with no action 6,836 (60.4%) 2008 2009 2010 Number of monitored beaches 31 31 31 Number of beaches affected by notification actions 31 31 29 Percentage of beaches affected by notification actions 100% 100% 94% Percentage of beach days affected by notification actions 44% 41% 40% Figure 4: Percent of investigated monitored beaches affected by possible pollution sources (31 beaches). Percent of beaches 0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 100 Investigated I no sources found Non-storm related runoff Storm-related runoff Agricultural runoff Boat discharge Cone, animal feeding operation Combined sewer overflow Sanitary sewer overflow Publicly-owned treatment works Sewer line leak or break Septic system leakage Wildlife Other (identified) source(s) Unidentified source(s) 23 55 Note: A single beach may have multiple sources. 100 ------- |