Clayton, NY (September 20, 2011) - Save The River’s Beach Watch Program monitored seven popular swimming areas over a nine-week period in July and August, providing a snapshot of summer swimming water quality. Overall, the results for this year indicated that the water quality at sampled beaches was within state and federal safe swimming standards.

Water quality sampling this year did not find consistently high levels of bacteria at Wilson’s Bay in Cape Vincent and Potter’s Beach on Grindstone Island, as in previous years. Wilson’s Bay did see a spike in bacteria levels on August 22^nd, although the sample was still within safe state swimming water standards. (See fact sheet for detailed sampling results.)

Save The River Beach Watch volunteers sampled seven sites this season – Wilson’s Bay in Cape Vincent, Frink Dock in Clayton, Potter’s Beach on Grindstone Island, Lake of the Isles near Wellesley Island, Round Island near Clayton, Scenic View Park in Alexandria Bay and Waddington Town Beach in Waddington. Water samples are tested for E.coli, a bacterium found in the intestines. Test results are compared to New York State Department of Health standards for beach swimming water quality. New York State guidelines are that 235 CFUs or higher of E.coli bacteria per 100 milliliters of sample water is deemed unhealthy at swimming beaches. None of the samples taken this summer exceeded this guideline.

High levels of E.coli bacteria can cause health problems such as rashes and gastrointestinal illness, and are dangerous to the very old, very young or anyone with a compromised immune system.  Symptoms of infection include: chills, fever, diarrhea and cramping.  To reduce the risk of acquiring a bacteria-related illness, beach goers should employ the following simple safety measures: never swallow swimming water and wash hands after swimming and before eating.

Also, scientific studies have indicated that the presence of Cladophora, a type of green algae, can harbor unsafe levels of bacteria.  Save The River believes there is a strong indication that, on occasion, Wilson’s Bay experiences high levels of bacteria due to the presence of Cladophora. Save The River suggests looking for the presence of Cladophora algae before swimming at most locations on the river.

Save The River’s Beach Watch Program has been providing swimming water data to the Thousand Islands community since 1999.  All samples are taken by Save The River volunteers and analyzed by Converse Laboratories in Watertown, a state certified facility.

Several organizations provided key support to the Beach Watch program in 2011. Water samples were collected at Bowes Realty in Clayton and taken to Watertown each week through a sample collection coordination program in conjunction with Converse Laboratories. The Thousand Islands Land Trust provided staff support for the additional sampling at Potter’s Beach. And, volunteers took weekly samples at each of the seven beaches tested.

The full listing of 2011 sampling results and a summary are available on Save The River’s website www.savetheriver.org, as well as results from prior years. During the swimming season, interested beach goers can sign up for Save The River’s weekly notification of Beach Watch information. To sign up, call Save The River at (315) 686-2010 or e-mail striver@savetheriver.org.

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For more information, contact Kayla Montanye at Save The River, (315) 686-2010.

Save The River continued its nine week summer sampling season again this year and was able to extend the sampling sites to include seven different locations. The 2011 Beach Watch season was highly successful, collecting samples where samples had not been collected in the past. Sampling dates for 2011 were: July 5, July 11, July 18, July 25 and August 1, August 8, August 15, August 22 and August 29. Sampling sites included Wilson’s Beach in Cape Vincent, Potter’s Beach on Grindstone Island, Frink Dock in Clayton, Round Island near Clayton, Lake of the Isles on Wellesley Island, Scenic View Park in Alexandria Bay, and Waddington Town beach in Waddington.

Save The River continued increased sampling at Wilson’s Beach in Cape Vincent and Potter’s Beach on Grindstone Island as a result of consistently high bacteria levels in prior years. Bacteria levels did not spike above the New York State Department of Health‘s standards for safe swimming water at these or any other beaches this summer.

Why have there been high bacteria levels in the past but not this year?

Save The River continues to work on determining the cause(s) of yearly and seasonal variations in bacteria levels at the Beach Watch sampling locations. Save The River believes spikes in bacteria levels at Wilson’s Beach are due to the presence of thick mats of Cladophora. Cladophora is a native type of green fibrous algae that is able to harbor harmful bacteria. The presence of this algae can cause swimming water to surpass the bacteria standard for healthy swimming water (Visit this post for more information on this issue).

The cause of high bacteria levels at Potter’s Beach in 2010 remains unknown. Save The River worked with local partners this season to determine the possible cause(s) of increased bacteria levels at Potter’s Beach in the past. Bacteria levels remained low during the 2011 sampling season, making it difficult to identify a source.

Read our 2011 BW Fact Sheet, which includes a detailed listing of sampling results for the season.

For more information or questions, call Save The River at (315) 686-2010.

On Thursday September 1, Save The River and the Antique Boat Museum took Senator Kirsten Gillibrand on a brief tour of the River.

Save The River Executive Director Jennifer Caddick, Board President Teddy McNally, and Senator Kirsten Gillibrand discuss River issues after a tour aboard the Antique Boat Museum's classic boat, 'The Zipper'.

After a full day of meetings on regional issues, we were pleased to provide the Senator with a break to enjoy the River and learn a bit about issues impacting our waterway and local economy. During the tour, we discussed the need for stronger ballast clean-up regulations to stop the introduction of aquatic invasive species as well as the impact of water levels regulation on the River ecosystem and the need for a new, updated plan that returns the River to more natural flows. Most importantly, the Senator and her staff had the opportunity to experience a gorgeous summer boat ride on the River. We also took a moment to thank Senator Gillibrand for her strong support of the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative (GLRI) in the Senate. The GLRI is providing much needed funding for Great Lakes and St. Lawrence River environmental restoration projects. We look forward to having the Senator visit us again.

2011 Beach Watch Results Week 9

Save The River has received the test results for Week 9 (August 29th) of the Beach Watch monitoring program. All beaches sampled on August 29th “passed”.

Week 9 Results (08-29-11)

Wilson Beach: PASS

Potter’s Beach: PASS

Frink Dock: PASS

Round Island: PASS

Lake of the Isles: PASS

Scenic View Park: PASS

Waddington Beach: No Sample

About Beach Watch

The program provides a snapshot of water quality at popular swimming areas which are not monitored by other groups during the peak recreational swimming season. Our goal is to ascertain whether there is a health risk to swimmers from E.coli in the water. E. coli is a type of bacteria found in the intestines of animals, including humans, which in some instances is linked to human health concerns.

There are many potential sources for E.coli bacteria in swimming areas, including: improper sewage disposal, agricultural run-off, bird and animal waste and various other environmental factors.

Although the results cannot be used to conclusively say that a location is safe for swimming, Save The River advises beach goers to practice safe swimming habits to reduce the likelihood of acquiring bacteria related illnesses, such as rashes or gastrointestinal problems. When swimming, a few simple steps should be followed: choose swimming sites with good water circulation, never swallow swimming water and wash hands after swimming and before eating. If you are very young, very old or have a compromised immune system you are more susceptible to acquiring bacteria related illnesses.

Change in Beach Watch Program

To best serve the community and to compare Save The River water quality results with results from other state and federal agencies, Save The River has changed what type of bacteria they test for. In previous years, Save The River has tested water samples for Enterrococci bacteria but will now be testing for E.coli. Although Enterrococci bacteria are a type of E.coli, testing for E.coli broadens the range of bacteria that may be found.  As always, Save The River will continue to monitor the beaches throughout the summer and report on results and trends

Questions?

If you have any questions, concerns or would like more information on our Beach Watch program, please stop by the office or call, 315-686-2010.