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Ocean Beaches Enjoy Another Pristine Year
OCEAN COUNTY - From surfers and boogey boarders in search of the perfect wave to toddlers splashing in the surf, residents and visitors alike are enjoying another beautiful summer on Ocean County's pristine beaches.
Water quality along beaches from Point Pleasant Beach to Beach Haven has been outstanding all summer long.
"We have not had an ocean beach closed due to poor water quality since before 2000," said Freeholder Director John P. Kelly. "It's been a perfect 21st century for Ocean County Atlantic beaches."
The clean water doesn't mean the county hasn't been keeping a close tab on its beaches. Every week during the summer Ocean County Health Department staff members sample water at 50 ocean beaches. The water is tested for enterococcus bacteria. A reading of 104 colonies per 100 milliliters of water results in an immediate second test.
If the second test comes back positive, the beach is ordered closed and the water is retested daily until the bacteria level drops.
According to health department records, an ocean beach hasn't been closed because of bacteria levels since the 1990s.
Two Long Beach Island beaches were closed for a short time in 2004, but the cause was later found to be a glitch in a new testing system used for the first time that summer, said Freeholder Gerry P. Little.
"We're very proud of our beaches in Ocean County and we have good reason to be," Little said. "Ocean County has been a pioneer in water testing."
Little, who is liaison to the Ocean County Board of Health, said the county has been testing its beach water since the 1970s and continues to operate one of the most extensive water quality monitoring programs in the nation.
Weekly water quality reports are released to the media and posted online at www. ochd.org.
A 24 hour hotline listing any beach closings can also be reached at 732-341-9700 ext. 776 or at 800-342-9738.
Freeholder Joseph H. Vicari said the county's ocean beaches are a vital part of the county's largest industry - tourism.
"Without our clean beaches, Ocean County's annual $3.3 billion tourism industry would flounder," Vicari said. "The number one reason people visit Ocean County is our white sandy beaches."
Ocean County also has another secret to keeping pollution out of the ocean - no storm drains emptying into the Atlantic.
Non-point source pollution from storm drains is a leading cause of beach closings across the nation, Vicari said.
The problem usually intensifies following a heavy rain, when animal waste and other pollutants are washed into storm drains that empty into nearby waterways.
Besides the ocean beaches, the health department also takes weekly samples at 41 lake, river and bay beaches.
Non-point source pollution has contributed to the closing of 25 bay, river and lake beaches in Ocean County so far this summer.
The number is still well below the 96 closings reported in 2006, Little said.
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