Virginia Water Monitoring Council Special Announcement forAugust 21, 2009:
During these hot "dog days" of summer and in preparation of the Labor Day holiday, remember these sources of information before heading to the beach:
1.) Coastal Watershed Factsheets
EPA publishes several factsheets pertaining to coastal watersheds. "The Beach and Your Coastal Watershed" is available at http://www.epa.gov/owow/oceans/factsheets/fact2.html and covers the following topics:
- What Is a Beach and What Does It Do?
- Why Can't We Use the Beach Sometimes?
- What Is EPA Doing to Protect Beaches?
- What Can You Do to Help Protect Beaches?
EPA, through its Beaches Environmental Assessment, Closure and Health (BEACH) Program, is working with state, tribal, and local governmental partners to make sure beach water quality information is available to the public. EPA established the BEACH Program to provide a framework for local governments to develop equally protective and consistent programs across the country for monitoring the quality of water at beaches and posting warnings or beach closings when pollutant levels are too high.
EPA's monitoring reports and guidance for oceans, coasts and estuaries, can be found at http://www.epa.gov/owow/oceans/assessmonitor/rptsguidance.html. Covers: National Coastal Condition Reports, National Estuary Program; Coral Reefs; Cruise Ship Discharges; Ocean Dumping and Dredged Material Management; Marine Debris Abatement; and Vessel Sewage.
2.) "Safely Enjoying Virginia’s Natural Waters"--
This brochure, published by the Virginia Department of Health, covers topics such as:
- Why Avoid Natural Water After a Heavy Rain?
- How is Health Risk from Natural Waters Determined?
- What You Can Do To Protect Yourself
To download, go to http://www.vdh.virginia.gov/epidemiology/DEE/BeachMonitoring/(also available in Spanish).
3.) Beach Monitoring in Virginia--
Bacteria levels in beach water are monitored at more than 40 public beaches on the Chesapeake Bay and Atlantic Ocean during the swimming season (May-September). For links to information about current swimming advisories and monitored beaches in Virginia, beach advisory and monitoring data, links to local beaches, local health department contacts for beach monitoring, and more see http://www.vdh.virginia.gov/epidemiology/DEE/BeachMonitoring/
4.) "Beaches and Bacteria"
This article covers:
- The Beaches Environmental Assessment and Coastal Health (BEACH) Act
- Virginia’s bacteria standards
- The types of indicator organisms monitored at Virginia’s beaches
- How people responsible for beach closures/advisories decide what is safe
- The difference between a beach advisory and a beach closure
- What it means to close a beach preemptively
- Bacteria Source Tracking
See http://www.vwrrc.vt.edu/watercentral.html (Virginia Water Central [#31], August 2004, "Science Behind the News." Published by the Virginia Water Resources Research Center).
5.) Virginia Coastal Zone Management Program (Virginia CZM Program)
This program was established through Executive Order Number Twenty-one, signed by Governor Timothy Kaine in June 2006, and has the goals of Coastal Resource Protection, Coastal Resource Sustainable Use, and Coastal Management Coordination. The website for the Virginia CZM Program is at: http://www.deq.virginia.gov/coastal.
The website contains: Coastal GEMS, a gateway to Virginia’s coastal resource data and maps; facts on coastal resource values; and direct links to collaborating agencies responsible for current data, and more. The Virginia CZM Program also contains information and links to websites pertaining to the laws and policies affecting:
- Tidal and Nontidal Wetlands
- Fisheries
- Subaqueous Lands
- Dunes and Beaches
- Point Source Air Pollution
- Point Source Water Pollution
- Nonpoint Source Water Pollution
- Shoreline Sanitation
- Coastal Lands
- And much more
About This Information
Please feel free to forward this special announcement. When forwarding, please acknowledge the Virginia Water Monitoring Council. Archived announcements from the VWMC are posted on the VWMC’s website at www.VirginiaWMC.org. To learn more about the Council, please see our website at www.VirginiaWMC.org or contact Jane Walker at the address below. If you have any water-monitoring related news of regional or statewide interest, send it to Jane Walker and ask that it be distributed to VWMC membership. Tax-deductible contributions can be made to the VWMC to support these information updates and other VWMC activities. Make checks payable to: “The Virginia Tech Foundation” and on the memo portion of the check include “Fund #872802.” Mail contributions to Jane Walker, VWMC administrator, at the address below.
Jane Walker
Research Associate
Virginia Water Resources Research Center
210 Cheatham Hall (0444)
Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University
Blacksburg, VA 24061
Phone: 540-231-4159
Fax: 540-231-6673
Email: janewalk@vt.edu
back to to
© 2009 Virginia Water Resources Research Center 