Swimming areas in the county tested mostly safe this week, although tests were conducted prior to a thunderstorm Wednesday evening, and rains continued to threaten the area on Friday.
Bacteria levels were high at only a handful of the over 100 public and private swimming areas tested Tuesday and Wednesday by county staff and volunteer groups:
SEVERN
Find out what's happening in Anne Arundelfor free with the latest updates from Patch.
Carrollton Manor/Hillbottom Beach – 296
MAGOTHY
Find out what's happening in Anne Arundelfor free with the latest updates from Patch.
Beachwood Forest – 118
Mill Creek – 158
SOUTH RIVER
Pine Whiff – 698
Turkey Point/Cloud Beach – 130
Greater than 104 cfu/100 ml are considered elevated bacteria levels.
Enterococci are bacteria that are found in the GI tract of warm-blooded animals, which includes all birds and mammals. Their presence in surface water indicates recent contamination with fecal waste. Counts are expressed as cfu or colony-forming units.
Both the county health department and a network of volunteers test over 100 public beaches and other areas around the county for bacteria. The results from the county tests are put online here, and for the volunteer tests here for Severn and Magothy rivers, here for South River, and here for Rhode/West River. All the sites listed above were tested by Watershed Stewards.
Rain washes human and animal waste from the landscape. For that reason, county and state officials warn residents not to swim or come into contact with water for 48 hours after a significant rain.
Bacteria that is ingested can cause an upset stomach. In some cases more harmful bacteria coming into contact with open wounds can cause serious infection.
Have fun, stay safe.
