This season has been the summer of swim advisories for Cape Charles Beach. The Virginia Department of Health (VDH) conducts weekly water sample testing along Cape Charles beach as part of the annual summer beach monitoring and swimming advisory process. When the test samples show a bacteria content level above 104, VHD issues a swimming advisory.
This year, advisories were issued on three occasions this summer (May 30-31; June 12-13; and August 1-2). Per the VDH, the water sample taken on July 31, prior to the August 1-2 advisory, showed a “human signature” present in the bacteria content. This human signature was identified on August 14, 2018 as HF183 and was present in sufficient quantity to constitute a significant positive. The Town received information on this test result in an email dated August 17, 2018.
According to the VDH website “The HF183 molecular marker is associated with recent human fecal contamination. HF183 is the most frequently recommended and used human-associated fecal contamination marker to identify human sewage pollution in surface waters.”
Most recent VDH test results show the level at 6 for the sample taken on August 21, 2018.
While the cause of the human signature in the July 31 sample is not identified in the testing, a number of sources are possible. These include raw sewage discharge from commercial and\or recreational vessels near the test site, run-off from failing septic systems, and stormwater discharge contaminated by a compromised connection to the sanitary sewage collection system. To
determine if the public wastewater collection and treatment system is contributing to these swim advisories, the Town plans on doing television monitoring of the system in the near future.
Please follow www.capecharles.org for updates on that testing process.
If you have any questions or comments, please contact Interim Town Manager Larry DiRe at 757-331-3259.
To promote public health and safety, VDH developed the following steps to protect your health while swimming:
• Observe Swimming Advisories; do not enter the water at a beach under a swimming advisory.
• Avoid swallowing water when swimming; natural waters may contain disease-causing organisms that can cause gastrointestinal illness if swallowed.
• Avoid swimming for a few days after heavy rainfall; bacteria levels are likely to be high and disease-causing organisms are more likely to be present after rainfall due to pollution from land runoff and other sources.
• Prevent direct contact of cuts and open wounds with recreational water; natural waters may contain disease-causing organisms that may cause skin infections.
• Avoid swimming in areas where dead fish are present; dead fish may indicate that water conditions are poor or
hazardous materials are in the water. Please contact the Department of Environmental Quality (703-583-3800) if you
observe a fish kill.
• Don’t swim if you are ill or have a weakened immune system; some organisms are opportunistic and may only cause
illness when you are already ill or your immune system is weakened.
• Shower with soap after swimming; showering helps remove potential disease-causing organisms.
• Swim away from fishing piers, pipes, drains, and water flowing from storm drains onto a beach.
• Do not dispose of trash, pet waste, or dirty diapers on the beach.
Why doesn’t the town build a bathhouse at the north end of the beach? Do you think anyone is going to to walk to the other end of the beach if they need to relieve themselves? What is our town council doing?
I doubt if bathers at the north end of the beach are walking to the south end for relief .
I doubt it yacht dwellers at A pier are walking to the harbor toilets at the east end .
We need to get serious about this problem . Like the people who drink the water at the Finger Lakes . Zero tolerance .
Maybe the folks who live near the North end of Bay Avenue don’t want a bath house there. The one at the south end is poorly maintained and stinks to high heaven. Some things are not meant to be shared.
Well you are going to share it anyway if you build it or not. I’d rather have it in the toilet than on the beach or in the bay. Maybe you prefer it differently.
I prefer a different location. I prefer not to walk outside and smell crap every time. I prefer to not hear all the drunks wandering around and vandals up to no good in the wee hours of the morning.Also, there are very few people that even use the North end. Keep that stink in the business district. Or maybe in your back yard. And… Why are you afraid to use your real name?
My, my. Such anger maybe you need to cool off at the north end of the beach. Drink up some of that pure water.
Respectfully, individuals using the beach are not the problem here. Bacterial levels of this magnitude are clear indication of sanitary tank discharges from large marine vessels. And not coincidentally, the Coast Guard reminded us in their town hall meetings that the discharge of treated sewage is allowed by law for vessels anchored in the bay. It’s past time that we endorsed the USCG initiative to establish an anchorage three to four miles off the coast. That would move the vessels three times farther out than the nearest ones currently anchor, and the distance would be equivalent to half the distance to the horizon. With that kind of range, you wouldn’t get detectable bacterial levels on the beach.
I repectfully disagree that the ships anchored off Cape Charles are the cause of the high bacterial counts. Seems that almost all the beach closers happen after a heavy rain event. I would wager to say the town sewage system has some type of infrastructure problem.
Note: Your assessment is accurate.
Exactly where does the sewage treatment plant discharge ? Town Harbor ? Bay ? Beach ?
That spot should be easy to monitor .