First tests come clean for state beaches.

Byline: Winston Ross The Register-Guard

FLORENCE - The waters of the Oregon Coast are probably as clean as they look, according to the first round of tests in a new state program.

Of samples taken from 52 beaches, none required public warnings or closures. Two batches did reveal levels of bacteria such as E.coli above federal water quality guidelines, but when retested, the numbers had dropped within healthy levels.

"It's excellent news," said Michael Holcomb, who manages the environmental toxicology program at the Division of Health Services. "At the main beaches, the water that people normally swim in, there was no contamination found there."

This summer, Oregon caught up to the rest of America's coastal states and implemented a water quality testing program, to the delight of environmental activists.

Environmentalists worried for years about pollution sources that drizzle down onto Oregon's beautiful beaches: failing septic tanks, overflowing sewage plants, urban runoff and animal waste, to name a few.

State health officials said they had more pressing needs with the limited funds they had to test water. Some of Oregon's rivers and lakes are at much greater risk and they're used more heavily than the chilly waters of the Pacific Ocean.

Priorities shifted, however, when Congress passed the federal Beach Act in 2000, requiring states to test their coastal waters and provided money to set up the program. This year, the Division of Health Services got $300,000 from the Environmental Protection Agency. That amount could grow to $800,000.

Based on preliminary tests conducted in 2002 and input from the public, the state chose 52 Oregon beaches as the best candidates for testing, organizing them into a tier system. Tier-one beaches are tested weekly; tier-two beaches twice a month and tier-three beaches monthly.

If high levels of bacteria are discovered, officials retest the site. If the numbers persist, warnings could be posted and beaches could be closed. On July 7, for example, a test at Bastendorff Beach in Coos Bay revealed bacteria levels above what would mandate a beach closure in other states. A second test July 15 showed the numbers had dropped back to safe levels.

"We are so happy that the state has begun testing water," said Markus Mead, Oregon field coordinator for the Surfrider Foundation, an international environmental organization of surfers. But there is much that remains to be done, Mead added.

The testing program should be expanded year round, Mead said. Surfers, who spend more time in the water than most ocean goers, do so in the fall, when waves are in top form. The state's program ends in September.

Mead argued that the state should adopt clear standards for water quality, so that the public can understand what the test results mean.

Also, he said the state could use its money more wisely if it handed over management of the program to the Oregon Department of Environmental Quality, the agency that actually tests the water. Having the Division of Health Services as administrator is wasteful, Mead said.

Finally, Mead argued that the group could save money by using Surfrider volunteer groups and watershed councils to help with the sampling. That way, more beaches could be tested more often.

Holcomb said that, as the first year's results are evaluated, some of those changes are possible. The long-term goal is for the program to operate all year, he said. The division only has so much funding for it, he said, and it's important for the results to be scientific, conducted by state officials.

But he said the division welcomes feedback. Holcomb can be reached by e-mail sent to michael.l.holcomb@state.- or.us.