Our BEACH Program partners help us monitor beach water quality. Samplers can review the procedures and information about the Beach Environmental Assessment, Communication, and Health (BEACH) Program.
Collecting water quality samples
We monitor beaches weekly throughout the summer. Our samplers test for illness-causing bacteria by collecting three samples at each beach. We average the numbers for three samples because bacteria results can be highly variable. We want to ensure that we accurately represent the level of risk at the beach.
More details about gathering beach water quality samples can be found in the documents below.
Standard Operating Procedure for bacteria sampling
Step-by-step instructions for BEACH Program bacteria sampling.
Quality assurance project plan
Project plan for the BEACH program.
Decision process for posting signs
guides public-heath decision makers when bacterial testing or a sewage release indicates that swimmers may get sick from the water.