The Beach, An Ocean Park Treasure

This summer you may have noticed news reports of beach closures up and down the east coast due to water quality issues. Have you ever wondered if Ocean Park’s beach is safe for swimming?

Fortunately, there is a way for you to find out. Ocean Park is one of over 60 beaches from Kittery to Acadia National Park that is monitored by the Maine Healthy Beaches (MHB) Program which was established to ensure that Maine’s saltwater beaches remain safe and clean. The program is funded by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and is managed by the Maine Department of Environmental Protection. 

Here’s how it works. Every Tuesday morning between Memorial Day and Labor Day volunteers gather information about activity on the beach, air & water temperature, water salinity and walk out into knee-deep water to collect samples that are sent off to the state laboratory. The two beach sites monitored in Ocean Park are located at the end of Porter Road and Reggio Road. There are four additional sites monitored between the Brunswick and the Friendship Oceanfront Suites. Test results are posted on the MHB website (https://www.maine.gov/dep/water/beaches/index.html) by Wednesday afternoon, and an advisory is issued if Enterococcus (ENT) bacteria levels exceed federal safety guidelines. If you’re already at the beach look for any advisory (orange: Elevated Bacteria or yellow: Precautionary Rainfall) or closure (red) signs or other signs posted at the beach entrance or on the lifeguard stands. Contact with water containing elevated levels of ENT bacteria may cause symptoms ranging from gastrointestinal pain to eye and ear discomfort to flu-like symptoms.

So where do these ENT bacteria come from and what have we learned from MHB water quality tests? The primary source of ENT bacteria is from wildlife and human fecal contamination. A heavy rainfall is the most common event that elevates ENT bacteria in saltwater. Stormwater runoff from roads and yards along with leaking or ageing septic systems carries bacteria ladened water directly into our marshes which empty into Goosefare Brook and the ocean. We know this because additional water samples collected at the New Salt Road tidal gate and under the bridge on West Grand Avenue contain consistently higher levels of ENT bacteria than in seawater during these events. Over the first seven weeks of this summer there have been two advisories issued by MHB for Porter beach and zero for Reggio beach. In all these cases the beaches remained open because follow-up water samples taken the next day showed that bacteria counts had dropped back down to acceptable levels.  

For additional concerns about beach safety and decisions regarding beach closure, contact Ben Quiram (207-934-4416), Beach Manager with the Town of Old Orchard Beach. 

Mark Lauritano on behalf of the OPA Environment & Natural Resources Committee