Beach water quality

I have never once hesitated to enter the water at any beach no matter what the DPNR issued water quality advisory was.

That would be like cancelling a day at the beach because the weatherman said it was going to rain.

Sorry but I have to think this is crazy. Do you have any idea how often the sewage is sent directly out to sea without being treated? For whatever reason, I don't seem to see or hear the info re bypasses happening the way I used to (that's what they call it, I guess bypassing the sewage treatment plant), but i understand they still occur, so all you've really got are the water quality reports, which admittedly are not prompt in publishing...but still....

I have never once hesitated to enter the water at any beach no matter what the DPNR issued water quality advisory was.

That would be like cancelling a day at the beach because the weatherman said it was going to rain.

...so all you've really got are the water quality reports, which admittedly are not prompt in publishing...but still....]

What's not prompt? The latest advisory covering water testing throughout the territory between June 4 and June 8th was published on the DPNR website on June 8. Hardly tardy. 😀

I think a bad quality result from June 4 should be publicized June 4 or 5, not on June 8. How many folks went in that dirty water on those 4 days? It doesn't take 4 days to get a result. A press release to newspapers and/or radio and posted on the internet would be a good start.

I think a bad quality result from June 4 should be publicized June 4 or 5, not on June 8. How many folks went in that dirty water on those 4 days? It doesn't take 4 days to get a result. A press release to newspapers and/or radio and posted on the internet would be a good start.

If the quality of the water is so bad necessitating closure of a swimming area this is done IMMEDIATELY and notices are posted on the affected beaches. This is an extremely rare occurrence as has been discussed earlier on this thread. I think if you do a little more research on the Federal water testing mandates you'll see that you're getting a little worked up about nothing.

Tart, I don't know how it is on STT but when it rains hard on STX there is pure sewage running into the water from Chenay Bay. We go there often and have never seen it closed. One time I jerked JJ out of the water because he had brown flecks all over him. Took him home, scrubbed him down poured peroxide all over him and made him gargle with listerine. Happily he didn't get sick but I keep a close eye out now and don't depend on any reports. If we have had heavy rain we don't get into the ocean for a couple of days.

Tart, I don't know how it is on STT but when it rains hard on STX there is pure sewage running into the water from Chenay Bay. We go there often and have never seen it closed. One time I jerked JJ out of the water because he had brown flecks all over him. Took him home, scrubbed him down poured peroxide all over him and made him gargle with listerine. Happily he didn't get sick but I keep a close eye out now and don't depend on any reports. If we have had heavy rain we don't get into the ocean for a couple of days.

Call DPNR/EPA division and let them know. I've always found them very good and responsive to deal with.

Good idea.

My understanding is that they retest. I have yet to see a DPNR notice that the seawater at the failed beach was now within the acceptable limits . I suppose I should send an email to their contact us thing.

It is actully getting better. Every overboard discharge is supposed to be reported to EPA. Waste management is under a court order to repair pump stations, have a backup pump and an emergency generator. You can get action to improve the performance of any entity that is Federally regulated just by calling the appropriate toll free hot line.

Our incredible and welcoming Caribbean sea water is our most leveraged asset. It is probably the #1 reason I chose to live and work here. You own it, protect and enjoy.

I use to swim in the brown water of the Delaware river and the Jersey Shore, where beaches don't close unless their is too many hypodermic needles on the beach. I've swam in flooded streets and all sorts of other places, I think I'll be fine here.

My understanding is that they retest. I have yet to see a DPNR notice that the seawater at the failed beach was now within the acceptable limits . I suppose I should send an email to their contact us thing.

They do re-test where both public water supplies and swimming areas are concerned, and within a couple of days. To save any confusion the actual testing is contracted out to a certified water testing lab and isn't done directly by DPNR. And I've seen many subsequent safe water advisories about the beaches quickly published in both the Daily News and the Avis although they're not of course on Page 1 but buried further along!

A mere handful of times over the many years I had my restaurant my water very minimally failed to meet the criteria at the monthly testing and the lab would immediately call me to let me know and would be out to re-test the next day. Twice I'd been tardy in adding bleach to the cistern and the other two or three times a new tester hadn't run the outside faucet which they tested from for a sufficiently long enough time to flush out standing water in the pipe.