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EPA's BEACH Report:
Maine 2010 Swimming Season
May 2011
Introduction
The BEACH Act of 2000 requires that coastal arid
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 2010 swimming season.
The Maine Healthy Beaches (MHB) Program
is committed to implementing an adaptive
monitoring regime, routinely assessing the risk
of pollution at each beach management area and
improving public notification of water quality
conditions on Maine's coastal beaches. It is a
unique partnership among municipalities, state
parks, the University of Maine Cooperative
Extension/Sea Grant, Maine Department of
Environmental Protection, nonprofit organizations,
other state agencies and volunteers.
Figure 1. Maine coastal counties.
Hancock
Washington
Lincol
0 0
ox
3
agadahoc
Cumberland
York
Table 1. Breakdown of monitored and
unmonitored coastal beaches by
county for 2010.1
County
Total
Beaches
Monitored
Not
Monitored
CUMBERLAND
9
9
0
HANCOCK
5
5
0
KNOX
3
3
0
LINCOLN
1
1
0
SAGADAHOC
6
6
0
WALDO
1
1
0
YORK
34
34
0
TOTALS
59
59
0
participating beaches

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2010 Summary Results
How many notification actions were reported and
how long were they?
When water quality standards are exceeded at a
particular beach, Maine issues a beach advisory that
warns people to avoid contact with the ocean water. A
total of 29 monitored beaches had at least one advisory
issued during the 2010 swimming season. About 69
percent of Maine's 71 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 2010 swimming season, actions were
reported about 4 percent of the time (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 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.
Figure 2: Beach notification actions by duration.
35 -i
30
21
T
"T
2	3-7	8-30
Duration of Actions (days)
>30
Figure 3:
Table 2. Beach notification actions, 2008-2010.
For More Information
For general information about beaches:
www.epa.gov/beaches/
For information about beaches in Maine:
www.MaineHealthyBeaches.org
Number of monitored
beaches
60
60
59
Number of beaches
affected by notification
actions
22
36
29
Percentage of beaches
affected by notification
actions
37%
60%
49%
Percentage of beach
days affected by
notification actions
3%
4%
4%
Beach days
with no action
5,379
(96.3%)
Beach days with
and without
notification
actions.
Beach days
with an action:
207
(3.7%)

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