MS Coast beaches get surprisingly good results in bacteria testing before weekend
The weekend is near, the weather report looks good and, for what appears to be the first time since early February, every Coast beach that the Mississippi Department of Environmental Quality tests for harmful bacteria received the all-clear.
MDEQ tests 21 beaches, from Lakeshore Beach near the Louisiana border to Pascagoula Beach East in Jackson County. On Thursday, the final water-contact advisories, for Long Beach Beach and Gulfport Harbor Beach, were removed.
The Department of Environmental Quality team in Biloxi has tested beaches under federal standards for more than two decades. The program is funded through Congress and runs year-round, which sometimes means employees work weekends and are in the lab over busy beach holidays like the Fourth of July. They must bring water to the lab within six hours of their sample. And they issue an advisory only if two tests in a row show higher-than-normal levels of bacteria.
The results hold clues about science and health. The state has a standing advisory against swimming after heavy rain because runoff from drains south of the railroad tracks inevitably washes pollutants into the water. The bacteria’s source is not always clear, but researchers say faulty septic tanks and sewers can leak through the stormwater system. Data from years of testing shows advisories have ebbed and flowed but endured steadily over the last decade.
“A lot of people don’t realize there’s always bacteria in the ocean,” Jennifer Ahlbrand told the Sun Herald last year. “So when they see us testing, they kind of freak out.” But the bacteria turning up in her samples has also appeared in Texas, Hawaii and Florida.
It is a common finding and not worrisome enough to close beaches. Still, each time it shows up, scientists warn swimmers there could be stormwater runoff in the waves that might give them digestive troubles or infections. States track the bacteria relentlessly. And Ahlbrand is one link in an army of monitors empowered by federal law in a vast effort to probe for water quality issues at more than 3,000 beaches across the country.
Weekend forecast
The National Weather Service forecast for Saturday calls for sunny conditions, with a high near 89 and winds of 5 to 10 mph. Sunday’s forecast calls for mostly sunny conditions, with a 20 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms after 1 p.m. The high temperature is expected to reach 89, with winds of 5 to 15 mph.
Martha Sanchez contributed to this report.