Water Quality Alert Lifted for Glen Isle Community Beach

The Anne Arundel County Department of Health has lifted the advisory for Glen Isle in Riva. Samples show that bacteria are at acceptable levels for swimming and other direct water contact.

The advisory for the beach, which is located on the South River, was issued on June 13, and continued the following weeks of June.

Specific reports on the type of bacteria, conducted by the South River Federation, found that Canada geese might have been to blame. The community rallied to clean the beach by raking and bagging the geese feces and then creating a barrier of string and shiny objects (pie plates and CDs) so that the geese wouldn't return.

It worked. The geese moved to another location.

Glen Isle Community Association president Mike Wagener said that community education has gone a long way to making sure that everyone is on board with keeping the geese away. Residents who enjoyed the wildlife and had been feeding them, stopped giving the geese food.

With the geese gone, the bacteria levels dropped, and, as of July 1, the beach has been deemed safe for swimmers.

The health department regularly tests water quality as part of their summer recreational water quality sampling program. They monitor more than 100 community beaches in Anne Arundel County.

To see water quality reports, maps and advisories, visit the Department’s website, www.aahealth.org. Direct Link to Water Quality Reports can be found here: http://www.aahealth.org/programs/env-hlth/rec-water/reports.