FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Dec. 9, 2008
DHEC ocean water sampling season results positive
COLUMBIA – More than 99 percent of the days during South Carolina’s five-month long beach season had no advisories as more than 93 percent of ocean water samples taken along the state’s coastline met or were better than the bacterial standard for swimmers in the surf, the state Department of Health and Environmental Control reported today.
“There were 1,961 samples taken by DHEC staff at 128 locations along the coast from May 15th to October 15th,” said Shannon Berry, beach monitoring coordinator in DHEC’s Bureau of Water. “This year’s results compare favorably with last year’s 94 percent testing results and indicate the surf along our coast is generally safe for swimming and other recreational activities.”
Berry said DHEC and local governments regularly monitor the ocean water for enterococci bacteria, an indicator organism that shows the presence of bacteria that could result in gastrointestinal illnesses for swimmers who ingest ocean water while swimming or playing in the ocean surf.
“Rainfall can contribute to the bacteria levels since the rainwater picks up bacteria as it travels through streets, parking lots, storm drains and swashes on its way to the ocean,” Berry said.
Results of this year’s sampling are available on DHEC’s Web site at www.scdhec.gov/beach.
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For more information:
Thom Berry – (803) 898-3885
E-mail – berrytw@dhec.sc.gov
BNR1876