DELMARVA - ShoreRivers, a nonprofit that aims to protect and restore waterways on Delmarva, announced that it will release weekly bacteria testing results from waterways around the region starting May 25. Results will be available in English and Spanish.
According to the organization, it uses a team of community scientists to monitor bacteria levels at popular swimming and boating sites every summer. Site sponsors range from towns and marinas to families. This year ShoreRivers is expecting 61 testers to monitor 46 sites on the Choptank, Miles, Wye, Chester, and Sassafras rivers as well as the Eastern Bay and Bayside Creeks.
Other popular sites that will have information available soon range from a Cape Henlopen State Park beach and the beach at the end of Rehoboth Avenue down to the north Indian River Inlet beach and multiple beaches along Ocean City, all the way over to the Choptank Marina on the Eastern Shore.
"The program follows the Environmental Protection Agency's standard protocols for collecting and analyzing samples and makes public the results of that testing to let people know about current bacteria levels as they make their plans for recreating in our waterways," said the announcement.
Bacteria levels in area waterways vary based on location, use of surrounding land, and weather. Potential sources of bacteria include failing septic systems, waste from animal farms, fertilizer, and overflows or leaks from wastewater treatment plants. According to ShoreRivers, major rain events are almost always connected to spikes in bacteria levels and outgoing tides have a higher probability of carrying bacteria pollution.
"We believe that access to clean water is an essential right for all of our communities," said Chester Riverkeeper Annie Richards. "It was important to us to be able to offer informational access to more of our community, and we hope to continue expanding this access in the future."
Results are posted every Friday between Memorial Day and Labor Day at www.shorerivers.org/swim and www.theswinguide.org as well as on ShoreRivers social media pages. Spanish results can be found at www.shorerivers.org/swimmable-shorerivers-espanol.