UPDATE: On August 2, the advisory for the presence of fecal bacteria at Hampton Beach was removed.
By PAULA TRACY, InDepthNH.org
HAMPTON – Hampton Beach State Park was again been issued an advisory for the presence of fecal bacteria, on Friday, after having been on the list for at least 11 days in July. https://www.arcgis.com/apps/dashboards/8d84a6b03acb4efaab571b222c78447b.
It was removed on Saturday.
Jim Martin, spokesman for the state Department of Environmental Services said the state does not shut down a beach.
“We provide the owners/operators with the information and post it on our healthy swimming mapper,” Martin said Friday.
The owner and operator is the State of New Hampshire and its Division of Parks.
Greg Keeler, spokesman for parks said “when we receive notice of any water quality advisories, they are posted online at the top of the particular park page in a blue advisory banner.
“Physical notices are also posted at the particular beach property.
“We are made aware of when the advisories are cleared and take down the online banner and signs at the beach.
“There are also links on our website on all beach property pages for people to check the Healthy Swimming Mapper at any time or before they visit one of our beaches to see if there are any advisories.”
As to the reason there was an advisory, Keeler said “it’s relatively uncommon for Hampton to have a water advisory, but this could be due to the relatively calm weather pattern that we have been in for several weeks.”
The popular ocean beach, which is considered a flagship state park property, had previously been on the advisory list earlier in the summer related to fecal bacteria.
It has been tested eight times in July and health advisories for fecal bacteria were issued from July 7-12; July 16-18; July 23-25 and July 30 to the Aug. 1.
It was the only beach in the state with a fecal advisory as of Friday afternoon, but it was later lifted.
An Environment America Research & Policy Center report was issued June 25 https://environmentamerica.org/center/resources/safe-for-swimming/ which shows 61 percent of U.S. beaches tested had potentially unsafe contamination levels on at least one day in 2024.
Broken down by state, the report shows New Hampshire had 16 beaches which tested for fecal indicator bacteria levels and four beaches had potentially unsafe levels on at least 25 percent of the days tested in 2024.
The highest percentage was at Wallis Sands Beach at Wallis Road testing site which had 33 percent of its test days which could be labeled as potentially unsafe. It was followed by North Hampton State Park beach at 27 percent of the days tested.
Hampton State Park Beach had 24 testing days in 2024 and eight percent of those tests showed potential unsafe swimming conditions due to fecal bacteria.
A full breakdown of beaches studied in the state and percentages are in the report https://environmentamerica.org/center/resources/safe-for-swimming/.
New Hampshire is not alone according to that report.
Nationwide in 2024, 1,930 out of 3,187 tested beaches nationwide experienced at least one day on which indicators of fecal contamination reached potentially unsafe levels – that is, exceeding EPA’s most protective “Beach Action Value.”
The policy center called that “a conservative, precautionary tool states can use to make beach notification decisions.”
Its research showed 453 beaches – approximately one in seven beaches tested nationwide – had potentially unsafe levels of fecal contamination on at least 25 percent of the days on which testing took place.
States vary in how frequently and widely they test their beaches.
Health implications from swimming in contaminated water can vary, officials say.
The report indicates it can cause gastrointestinal illness as well as respiratory disease, ear and eye infection, and skin rash.
“Each year, there are an estimated 57 million cases of illness in the U.S. resulting from swimming in oceans, lakes, rivers and ponds. The vast majority of these illnesses go unreported.”
Contaminated water can also trigger health warnings or closures that interfere with our ability to enjoy the beach. There were more than 7,563 health warnings or closures at U.S. coastal and Great Lakes beaches in 2024, affecting one out of every 15 swimming days,” the report reads.
The source of such fecal bacteria is not just feces from animals and sewage overflows after a storm, as some might think.
Stormwater runoff, aging infrastructure which contains bacteria, viruses and parasites, discharge from failing private septic systems, and development on the coast lines are making the problem worse, the report states.
“Sprawl also exacerbates the proliferation of septic systems, which often leak and can pollute our waters as noted above. From 1996 to 2016, U.S. coastal areas added 4.2 million acres of development, while losing 640,000 acres of wetland and almost 10 million acres of forest,” the report shows.
The report indicates that Congress took a big step to reduce the threat of beach pollution by passing the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act in 2021.
“The law not only directly provides $11.7 billion for sewage and stormwater projects but also authorizes an additional $14.65 billion for that purpose. The EPA estimates the actual need for wastewater infrastructure at least $630 billion,” it reads.
It recommends improving wastewater infrastructure, construction of rain barrels, permeable pavement, urban green space and green roofs, requiring the use of green infrastructure in new development; and protecting natural infrastructure such as riparian areas and wetlands that filter pathogens.
The state’s healthy swimming mapper also shows warnings and advisories for cyanobacteria or blue green algae and tests both salt and freshwater waterbodies for a high presence which can also lead to health concerns.
This summer has been particularly quiet on the cyanobacteria warning and advisory list at least as it compares to last summer. There are no current warnings but a cyanobacteria watch is posted for Huntress Pond in Barrington as of July 29.