ro
X
\
^OST/>%
Q
.SB ?
EPA's BEACH Report:
Puerto Rico 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 Puerto Rico for the 2010 swimming
season.
Figure 1. Puerto Rico.
Rincon
as
J5
-------
2010 Summary Results
How many beaches had notification actions?
When water quality standards are exceeded at a
particular beach, Puerto Rico 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. A total
of 14 out of 22 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 4 percent of Puerto Rico'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 Puerto Rico's
investigated beaches possibly affected by various
pollution sources.
For More Information
For general information about beaches:
www.epa.gov/beaches/
For information about beaches in Puerto Rico:
www.prtc.net/~jcaagua/monitoria.html
Figure 4: Percent of investigated monitored beaches
affected by possible pollution sources (27 beaches).
Percent of beaches
0 1 0 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 1 00
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)
Figure 2: Beach notification actions by duration.
15-i
(n
c
o
¦*->
o
<
o
6
10
T
13
"T~
2 3-7 8-30
Duration of Actions (days)
>30
Figure 3: Beach days with
and without
notification
actions.
Beach days
with an action:
315
(3.9%)
Beach days
with no action
7,715
(96.1%)
Table 2. Beach notification actions, 2008-2010.
2008 2009 2010
Number of monitored
beaches
22
22
22
Number of beaches
affected by notification
actions
11
15
14
Percentage of beaches
affected by notification
actions
50%
68%
64%
Percentage of beach
days affected by
notification actions
2%
5%
4%
43
0
0
0
0
0
0
14
r i i i
43
Note: A single beach may
have multiple sources.
------- |