After our first swimming season of Operation Clean Short Beach / Stop Poo-lution, we have some tentative positive results. We are happy to report that there were zero beach closures due to excessive bacteria during the summer swim season. During the weekly testing by East Shore Health Department, only one bacteria count was above the limit, and that number went down below the limit the next day, so the beach stayed open. (Probably that high count came after a substantial rainfall – my personal practice is that I don’t swim for one full high-tide cycle after a heavy rain, to avoid those brief spikes.)
Having no closures is not entirely out of line from past summers; we had zero closures in 2022, compared with two in 2023. But this past year was at least on the better side of normal!
We are planning to do some more detailed testing on the samples we have taken over the summer, and there should be more data to report. But so far, we can say that it’s possible – but not yet scientifically certain – that our campaign is having a modest but meaningful positive impact.
Keep picking up your bags! And tell your neighbors about how we can keep Short Beach Clean!
