Testing the Waters

Beach to Bayou - April/May 2018

A state monitoring program tests the waters of the Mississippi coast and issues advisories if needed.  What are they testing for and where?  We have the info and the links to make it easy to check before you swim. 
- story by Lisa Monti

Our beach season gets underway well before summer officially arrives in June. All it takes is warm springtime weather to draw crowds of sunbathers and swimmers to the sand and shoreline.
 
To help make sure that beachgoers know if it’s safe to go in the water, the Mississippi Department of Environmental Quality’s Beach Monitoring Program collects water samples at 21 locations from Lakeshore to Pascagoula.

Four of the testing locations are in Hancock County: near Lakeshore Drive from Silver Slipper Casino to Poinset, at the entrance to Buccaneer State Park, near Vacation Lane in Waveland and at St. Charles Street in Bay St. Louis.

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​Doug Upton, chief of MDEQ’s field service division that does all monitoring across state, said the water samples are collected at least once a week by staffers at MDEQ’s regional office in Biloxi. The samples are analyzed at a private lab in Ocean Springs and results are typically reported in 24 hours.
 
What they’re looking for is Enterococci bacteria, which Upton calls “an indicator organism” that signals pollution caused by stormwater runoff, wildlife, boating waste or sewer overflows. High winds and heavy rainfall can also increase bacteria levels in our coastal waters. That’s why the Beach Task Force recommends not swimming during or within 24 hours of significant rainfall.

Below:  the Four Hancock County Monitoring Stations 
click on the individual maps for the latest report
Click here to see all Mississippi monitoring stations

Station 1, around Lakeshore Drive, extends from around the Silver Slipper Casino to Poinset. Click to see current report

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Station 2, at Buccaneer Park, extends 100 yards from sign in each direction. Click on the map for current report

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Station Three, Waveland beach. The associated beach extends from around Oak Blvd. to Favre Street. Click for current report

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Station 4 is near St. Charles Ave. in BSL. The associated beach extended from the box culvert to Ballentine Street. Click on image for current report

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​When Enterococci bacteria levels exceed federal water quality standards in two consecutive samplings, MDEQ will issue an advisory using warning signs at the beach location itself and through the news media and social media. The goal is to let people know that if they come in contact with the contaminated water, there is a higher risk of infections of the ear, eye, skin and respiratory system. Gastrointestinal illness and even meningitis and hepatitis could occur through water contact.
 
You can still enjoy the sand beach section but, MDEQ says, you swim at your own risk.
 
The advisory is lifted after two daily samples show acceptable levels.
 
Very seldom does MDEQ issue beach closures, Upton said. “We do from time to time have sewage releases into the Sound from infrastructure failures. Then we will immediately issue an advisory and out of an abundance of caution, we make the advisory area probably bigger than it should be and assess the impact and monitor it daily until the threat is no longer there.”

DEQ offers an interactive map online, making it easy to keep tabs on water quality. Click on the map for the current conditions.

Warmer weather also brings concerns about Vibrio or “flesh eating” bacteria, which multiply as water temperatures rise, the same time more people are swimming and boating. Upton said MDEQ doesn’t monitor for Vibrio bacteria because those bacteria exist naturally in brackish waters and they are not linked to pollution.
 
Upton said MDEQ puts great emphasis on its beach monitoring public notification system and website which contains current and historic data going back to 2000 for its sampling locations. The public can sign up to receive email notifications, automatic text messages and Twitter blasts about the beach advisories.
 
“The whole emphasis for beach monitoring is to make sure beachgoers know the condition of the water they will be swimming in,” he said.
 
To receive beach advisories, send an email to rwilbur@mdeq.ms.gov, text "MDEQbeach" to 95577, or follow MDEQ on Twitter: @MDEQ.

A typical advisory sign. Photo courtesy MDEQ