Some Bay swim spots like taking a dip in toilet?
On hot days like we've had this summer, I like to think back to the refreshing dips I've taken over the years in the Chesapeake Bay. I'm older, wiser -- and a little disgusted -- to learn now that some beaches and recreation spots around the Bay are about as safe to swim in after a hard rain as an unflushed toilet.
That's what reporters at the University of Maryland found recently when they sampled seven spots on five rivers that feed the Bay.
Three of the seven had bacteria levels that exceeded Maryland and Virginia standards for safe recreation, they reported, while five were higher than the safe level for swimming. Two - Savage Park in Howard County and Middle Branch Park in Baltimore - had bacteria counts far worse than an unflushed toilet they also sampled.
The water sampling is part of a multimedia report, Bay on the Brink, being produced by the reporters, who are fellows with News21, a consortium of journalism schools. (Full disclosure: I'm a consultant to News21 and advising the fellows in their reporting.)
Sally Hornor, a biology professor at Anne Arundel Community College, analyzed water samples taken by the reporters. She points out that storm-water pollution is the usual culprit when bacteria counts soar in open waters. A hard rain washes litter and a host of unseen contaminants - animal waste, food scraps, sewage overflows - off streets and parking lots into storm drains and nearby streams.
There are no official swimming beaches on the Middle Branch of the Patapsco River, and I've never seen anyone taking a dip there. The city health department advises against swimming anywhere in the harbor or the rivers that feed into it. But there are crabbers and fishers at Middle Branch park, and the river there is used regularly by members of the Baltimore Rowing Club.
Swimming is off limits at Savage Park on the Middle Patuxent River, too. But as the photo above shows, it's not enforced, and it's a popular cooling-off spot on hot days.
To be sure, there are officially sanctioned bathing beaches around the Bay, and local health authorities regularly test them. They're closed when bacteria levels are unsafe - most likely after a heavy rain. But even if there's no warning sign on the beach, it's a good precaution to stay out of the water for at least several hours after a downpour.
(Photo by Allison Frick, courtesy of News21)
Comments
WHOA!!! That's why I only swim in a pool.
Posted by: Michelle Brown | July 27, 2010 7:59 AM
Thinking about concentrating human environmental impact is rarely discussed except in the terms of "Smart Growth." Clearly the less land we develop is positive. Re-populating the cities with so much existing infrastructure and housing seems to make sense. if people denser areas it is easier to apply technologies to control, filter and reduce runoff waste. People trend not to realize that living in cities, while it may appear less green, it actually the "greenest" way to live.
Posted by: Baltimoreplaces | July 27, 2010 9:14 AM
Yet another screwup by the O'Malley Administration
Posted by: JulieB | July 27, 2010 9:34 AM
Actually the Department of Health recommends not swimming in the bay for a full 48 hours after a heavy rain (not just "several hours"). If you live or play near the Bay or any of it's tributaries, you can sign up for the weekly email from the Department of Health which will email you the weekly testing results to show the bacteria levels. They will mark the unsafe waterways with RED numbers. There are also more local groups that monitor individual waterways. I live and play in a small bay off of the South River in Anne Arundel County. The "South River Federation" employs our "Riverkeeper" who does separate testing within the South River and emails their own results. We use both the SRF and the Dept of Health bacteria readings each week to determine if our family will be swimming in the Bay that weekend.
And after every swimming event, we disinfect as soon as we get home. Full shower. Alcohol & Vinegar drops in our ears. Peroxide on any scrapes or cuts. Gargle with mouthwash. We've had no issues over the 6 years we've lived near the water.
Posted by: Jennifer | July 27, 2010 9:49 AM
JulieB, does the "B" stand for "Blowhard"? Does Martin O'Malley control the weather?
Posted by: Patterson Park Resident | July 27, 2010 1:13 PM
On a hot Summer day, the Savage Mill Trail along the Middle Patuxent off Foundry Road in Savage is jammed with people picnicking and going down to the River to swim.
There are no toilet facilities on the Trail, and people urinate and defecate in the shrubs and bushes lining the trail. This is considered unremarkable behavior by the heavily hispanic / latino populations using the area for recreation.
Patrols by Howard County police mainly look to curb alcohol use in the area, rather than enforcing hygienic practices among park users.
Posting signs in Spanish discouraging people from relieving themselves in the brush and practicing good hygiene may be helpful in curbing fecal coliform counts in the River.
Posted by: tarbandu12 | July 27, 2010 4:41 PM
How is this a screw up by the O'Malley administration? If people believe this to be a new problem they are sadly mistaken. The problem of wastewater discharging has been significantly worse as you go back in time when there was zero enforcement in place. Only now when the harbor and bay are so riddled with pollution of the past and slight pollution usually due to malfunctions or periodic failing structures is it unable to mask/dilute what has been accumulating for a nearly three hundred years, do they take notice. If anything the State has been creating mandates that counties have to follow(i.e. zero tolerance of sewage discharge). So maybe check your blame Julie before you go blind from your political bias.
Posted by: Go Gunners | July 27, 2010 5:12 PM
It's an O'Malley screwup bc he cut $200 million from the fund that fixes treatment plants.
Posted by: JulieB | July 31, 2010 11:56 AM
We know what we need to do but it is expensive.
1. Establish a funding source (impervious surface tax?).
2. Build large wetlands on the streams/ storm drains that feed the bay. To filter and biologically treat our run off.
Posted by: Douglas Celmer | August 13, 2010 11:36 AM
JulieB, that's "$200M cut" claim is a smear propagated by Bob Ehrlich. O'Malley fully funded that program, and even Ehrlich now admits it. Team Ehrlich cares more about smearing O'Malley than about facts.
Posted by: rmem | August 13, 2010 12:15 PM
Oh my god! I wondered,how dirty are these swimming area. It's really unbelievable.
Posted by: above ground swimming pools | December 10, 2010 3:29 AM