State of the Beach/State Reports/OR/Water Quality
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Water Quality Monitoring Program
The Beaches Environmental Assessment and Coastal Health Act (BEACH Act) signed into law on October 10, 2000, amends the federal Clean Water Act (CWA), incorporating provisions intended to reduce the risk of illness to users of the Nation's recreational waters. The BEACH Act authorizes the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to award program development and implementation grants to eligible States, Territories, Tribes, and local governments to support microbiological testing and monitoring of coastal recreation waters, including the Great Lakes, that are adjacent to beaches or similar points of access used by the public. BEACH Act grants also provide support for development and implementation of programs to notify the public of the potential exposure to disease-causing microorganisms in coastal recreation waters. EPA encourages coastal States and Territories to apply for BEACH Act Grants for Program Implementation (referred to as Implementation Grants) to implement effective and comprehensive coastal recreation water monitoring and public notification programs. CWA section 406(i) authorizes appropriations of up to $30 million per year to develop and implement beach programs. Unfortunately, only about one-third that amount has been authorized each year since the program's inception. For 2012, the total fund available for BEACH Act grants was $9.8 million. Funding beyond 2012 is in jeopardy, since EPA's budget request for this program in FY2013 was ZERO (money for testing in 2013 was ultimately allocated as part of a Continuing Resolution to resolve the Federal Budget impasse) and there is also no money for beach testing in the FY2014 budget. If available, funds are allocated to the states and territories based on a formula which uses three factors that are readily available and verifiable: (1) Length of beach season, (2) miles of beach and (3) number of people that use the beaches. Oregon was eligible for a $227,000 grant in 2012. The federal grants fully fund the Oregon beach monitoring and notification program.
NRDC reported on the status of Oregon's recreational water testing program in their Testing the Waters report, which was released in June 2013:
NRDC ranked Oregon 10th in Beachwater Quality (out of 30 states). 5% of samples exceeded national standards for designated beach areas in 2012.
Oregon has 92 beaches lining 197 miles of Pacific Ocean coastline. The state's beachwater quality monitoring program is administered by the Oregon Health Authority (OHA).
Water Quality Challenges and Improvements
The Ecola Court stormwater outfall, which flows in a stream across Cannon Beach in Clatsop County before emptying into the ocean, has a history of elevated fecal indicator bacteria levels. This is a popular location for children to play, and many adults use the outfall to wash sand off their feet when they leave the beach. The city of Cannon Beach works with the Oregon Beach Monitoring Program to test for enterococcus weekly. The city has also taken steps to better warn the public about the potential health effects of contacting the water in the outfall, such as posting the weekly test results online.
Sampling Practices: OHA, together with the Oregon Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ), determines sampling practices, locations, standards, and notification protocols and practices throughout the state. Samples are collected and processed by a DEQ employee who travels the coastline in a mobile lab. Samples are collected at ankle to knee depth in the middle of typical bathing areas.
The Oregon Beach Monitoring Program monitors beaches with historically higher bacterial levels and recreational use during the peak season from Memorial Day to Labor Day. In alternate years at the beginning of the peak season, OHA evaluates beaches and sample locations to determine whether they will be monitored that season and the next; this ensures that high-priority beaches will be monitored. This reevaluation occurred prior to the 2012 summer season. To determine which beaches receive high priority for monitoring, the program evaluates the number of people recreating in the water, previous water quality data, proximity to known and suspected pollution sources, and public com