Surf's up! But check the water quality first

07/02/04
San Antonio Express-News
Susan Weill

The "no swimming" advisory issued by the Galveston County Health District for area beaches last week illustrates the importance of checking water quality before heading to the Texas Gulf Coast for fun in the surf.

"The advisory was due to an increase of enterococcus bacteria in the water," said Kurt Koopmann, GCHD public information officer. "The recent heavy rains brought runoff with fecal material into our waterways."

No enterococcus contamination advisories were issued for Galveston's 32 miles of beachfront in 2003, but 35 were issued in 2002, according to U.S. Environmental Protection Agency reports.

Currently, the beaches at Corpus Christi, Port Aransas and South Padre are under no health advisories.

"The beaches are looking great," says Kristin Connor, beach manager for the City of Corpus Christi Parks Department. "We're looking forward to a great Fourth of July."

The same is true for South Padre.

"Our beaches are clean and beautiful and open," says Dianna Stewart-Harvill of the South Padre Island Chamber of Commerce. "They will be a great place to spend the Fourth of July weekend."

Despite the surface beauty of Texas coastal beaches, swimmers and surfers should safeguard their health before entering the waters, says Blake Traudt, coordinator of the Texas General Land Office Beach Watch program.

"People with compromised immune systems, or with open sores or cuts, or with kids who are apt to drink the water while swimming, should find out whether a particular beach is under an advisory for bacterial contamination," he says.

Advisories do not mean the beaches are closed, just that the water may not be safe.

Texas has 600 miles of coastline along the Gulf of Mexico, including one of the most popular beaches in the country: the 130,000-acre Padre Island National Seashore, the longest undeveloped barrier island in the United States.

The Texas Beach Watch program is developing a database of beach water bacteria-testing results. "We hope to have it completed this summer so we can have the information online for the beach-going public to easily access," Traudt says.

In 2000, Congress passed the Beaches Environmental Assessment and Coastal Health Act. The Beach Act requires states to work with the EPA to monitor coastal recreation waters adjacent to public beaches for bacteria. It also requires that states notify the public if water quality drops below accepted safety standards.

In 2001, the Texas General Land Office established the Beach Watch program.

"Today, beach water samples are collected and tested weekly from May through September, and biweekly from October through April," Traudt says. "This testing is done at 143 stations in 48 areas in six counties: Jefferson, Galveston, Brazoria, Matagorda, Nueces and Cameron."

Local municipalities are responsible for posting warnings about bacterial contamination in their beach water.

Several beaches in Texas benefit from the online information provided by Earth 911, a nonprofit environmental organization. Earth 911 offers information regarding water quality conditions at beaches, including 13 in Texas. Its Web site, www.earth911.org, includes a weekly update.

The six Texas counties with beaches being monitored through Texas Beach Watch provide water quality information through the Web and by phone.

Information on Jefferson County beaches, including Sea Rim State Park and McFaddin National Wildlife Refuge, is available from Sea Rim State Park at (409) 971-2559 or by e-mail at Sea.Rim@tpwd.state.tx.us.

Water quality information at Galveston County beaches, including Galveston Island State Park, is available through the Galveston County Health Department by going online to its Web site, www.gchd.org, or by contacting Koopmann at (409) 938-2211.

South Padre Island and Boca Chica State Park water quality updates are available through the Cameron County Parks Department at (956) 761-5494 or by e-mail from the South Padre Chamber of Commerce at dianna@spichamber.com.

Get water quality updates on Nueces County beaches, including Port Aransas and Mustang Island State Park, from beach manager Connor, City of Corpus Christi Parks Department, (361) 880-3461.

Water quality information at Brazoria County beaches is available from the Brazoria County Environmental Health Department at (281) 756-1600.

The Matagorda County Health Department, (361) 972-5313, has water quality information for Matagorda beaches.

More Texas beach information is available at Surfrider Foundation's "State of the Beach" report, www.surfrider.org.

The Clean Beaches Council also provides information at www.cleanbeaches.org.

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