Surfers Establish Seawater-Testing Lab
It was only after surfer Ed Larenas and his friends emerged from the water at Linda Mar Beach in Pacifica, one recent winter, they realized the Warning, that these Waters are contaminated. Pollution levels in coastal waters fluctuate so wildly that any significant delay in monitoring and reporting can misrepresent the status of the beach.
Frustrated by contamination warnings of the County water testing board mandated by the law, which offer too little information too late, Larenas and fellow members of the San Mateo County chapter of the Surfrider Foundation this week opened a water quality testing lab in El Granada, near Half Moon Bay.
In fact, San Mateo County so welcomed the effort that it donated the space for a lab. Surfers raised $10,000 to transform the vermin-infested garage into a clean, well-lighted lab with incubators, autoclaves and other equipment. Samples are analyzed for bacteria like E.coli and enterococcus, both of which can cause illness.
This lab is the latest of about two-dozen such facilities created and run by members of the Surfrider Foundation. It is a national, non-profit organization working to preserve oceans and beaches. The Santa Cruz chapter, opened in 1991, monitors as many as 20 sites weekly in its lab.
Volunteers plan to sample and analyze seawater in the lab every Monday, then promptly post the results on the group’s Web site, in local surf shops, newspapers and other public locations. Test results also will be entered in a database, to detect any trends in future.
Because the lab is so close to the beach, the turnaround time is faster than county water testing, information can get to those who need it, surfers and swimmers. By testing and publicizing water quality – good or bad – Surfrider members seek to keep people healthy. But their larger goal, which they aim at, is that; they want to draw attention to the predicament of ocean pollution. They ultimately want to inspire more aggressive protection and safety measures regarding the Ocean Pollution.
David Beckman, who directs the Coastal Water Quality Project for the National Resources Defense Council, says that, they can get accurate water quality information to beachgoers, which helps raise the level of awareness about contaminated water.
The Coastal officials are accused for not doing their job. The problem is that water quality officials in San Mateo County, like those in Santa Cruz and other coastal counties statewide, have too much to do, with too little money.
Scott Boyd of the Sewer Authority Mid-Coast, the local agency responsible for treating and discharging wastewater said that, getting beaches posted earlier would be a real benefit In recent years, local beaches have been plagued by repeated closings, usually caused by runoff of animal waste and leaking septic tanks.
Half Moon Bay Mayor Mike Ferreira said that, he has never seen a more effective use of government funding and property. It’s a wonderful leverage of a small amount of money, thanks to lots of volunteers. It’s real-time testing of the beaches, for nothing. The Surfrider volunteers include a biochemist, a professor of biology at San Francisco State University, a land use planner and several engineers.
Tim Duff, Surfrider lab volunteer and Coastal Conservancy employer said that; though Surfrider an independent group and difficult to organize, they came forward to do something like this, and this something which makes all the difference.