Eastern Shore Health District Posts Swimming Advisories at Guard Shore Beach and Kiptopeke Beach
(Accomac, Va.) The Eastern Shore Health District has issued a swimming advisory for Guard Shore Beach near Bloxom, Virginia and Kiptopeke State Park Beach near Cape Charles, Virginia. Recent testing conducted by the Virginia Department of Health showed bacteria levels in these waters exceeded the State Water Quality Standards.
Recreational waters are monitored for bacteria using indicator organisms such as enterococci, the indicator of choice for estuarine and marine waters. “The coastal waters of Virginia are generally very clean, and we test them frequently to confirm this,” said Eastern Shore Health District Environmental Health Manager, Jon Richardson. “On the occasions when waters do fail to meet the standards, we need to protect public health by letting residents and visitors know.”
Signs have been posted at Guard Shore Beach and Kiptopeke Beach alerting the public of the advisory. The signs read:
Warning!
Swimming Advisory
Bacteria Levels Do Not Meet State Water Quality Standards
Swimming Not Recommended Until Further Notice
Health officials will continue testing the site, and they will remove the signs and notify the public again when the bacteria levels decrease to levels that meet the standard. Environmental health officials sample Guard Shore and Kiptopeke Beaches on a weekly basis during the swimming season from June to September.
Enterococci are a group of organisms used to determine the extent of fecal contamination of recreational waters. While they do not cause illness, scientific studies indicate that their presence is closely correlated to the presence of other disease-causing organisms. People swimming or playing in waters with bacteria levels higher than the standard have an increased risk of developing gastrointestinal illness.
“We encourage the public to protect their health by complying with this advisory,” said Richardson. “Typically, an advisory of this nature is temporary and will be withdrawn once the bacteria levels have returned to a safe level.”
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE For More Information Contact Release #08-31
Keith Privett, Environmental Health Supervisor
(757) 787-5880
For additional information on beach advisories contact the Accomack County Health Department at (757) 787-5880, or the Northampton County Health Department at (757) 442-6228.
To learn more about the beach water monitoring program in Virginia visit http://www.vdh.virginia.gov/environmental-epidemiology/beach-monitoring/
For more information about recreational water swimming safety visit the website www.swimhealthyva.com .
###
Would love to know if anyone is monitoring ship traffic past these beaches. It is my belief that ships after being at anchor pump out their sewage holding tanks once they get underway hoping that the prop wash will break up and dissipate the waste.
I thought the same thing. I believe this will become an increasingly serious issue.
Wayne have you been able to determine the source of this fecal matter?
Note: No, but samples have been sent to Virginia Tech, which as the ability to do source tracking. According to the lab, we should know whether the source was human or animal based within a few days. We will report when we have it.
Is the Cape Charles beach also monitored? Are the test results public?
Note: Yes, Cape Charles Beach is monitored, along with Kiptopeke and Guardian Beaches. The Cape Charles Beach, even with the dredging that is currently taking place, tested very clean:
Sample Date: 08/30/2016
Sample Result: 5 cfu/100ml
State Water Quality Standard: 104 cfu/100ml
Eastern Shore Health District
Wayne any news on the alleged land mine that was found in the water off Cape Charles beach? Apparently the Coast Guard recovered it.
David, just heard from the Town that the only thing that Navy EOD found during the investigation was the dredge pipe.