Even the Beach Has to Pass Tests

Are you ready to go swimming?  Have you braved the water temperature and already gone for a swim?  Have you ever wondered if Andover’s public beach is monitored for bacteria content?
Good news!  The beach is inspected monthly from June through August as part of the state beach inspection program.  Water samples are collected from the beach by N. H. Department of Environmental Services program staff for bacteria analysis.  The staff member also records water temperature, weather conditions and the number of bathers, dogs and wildlife present.

Testing results are sent to the Town.  If results indicate that bacteria are high, the Town Health Officer will post a bright yellow sign notifying beachgoers that “the area may not be suitable for swimming due to high bacteria levels.” The sign will be removed by the Health Officer when testing results are normal.

Since there are currently no available funds for freshwater sampling, the town of a monitored freshwater beach is responsible for the cost.  The cost of bacteria analysis at the N. H. Department of Environmental microbiology lab is currently $30 per sample. It is the intention of the Beach program to obtain a representative overview of the area since bacteria can be localized.  Depending on the size of the beach, inspections can include two to five water samples. If the beach area is posted for high bacteria levels and requires re-testing until state standard are met, the cost accumulates.

How can we prevent high levels of bacteria?  Birds often frequent a beach repeatedly due to the presence of a food source (please don’t feed the birds and don’t leave food scraps); leave dogs at home, their feces cause high bacteria; human feces (please use the restrooms and check children’s diapers frequently).

If you would like to get all the results from the beach sampling, beach data can be found at NHDES’s OneStop data retrieval site.  Follow these instructions once at the OneStop – Search page.
• Under “Areas of Interest”, select “Beaches.”
• Under “location” select name of town beach
• Under “Beaches” select any variables desired to limit search results
• Select “Enter” to obtain a list of beaches that match your search.
• On the results page, click “Show” to find individual beach information, advisories, and sample results