The Virginian-Pilot
©
VIRGINIA BEACH
Swimming and wading advisories for the Chesapeake Bay and a portion of the Oceanfront were lifted Thursday.
Erin Sutton, environmental health manager for the health department, said Thursday that bacteria levels for the beaches were no longer high.
"We are clear," Sutton said. "All the beaches are open."
Recent testing by the health department showed that bacteria levels in the water exceeded the state water-quality standards at five locations in the Chesapeake Bay and at locations between 8th and 22nd streets at the Oceanfront, prompting the advisories Wednesday.
It was the first time this year that the resort area had a swimming advisory.
The ban came at a time when tourist season is in full swing and the East Coast Surfing Championships are being held nearby.
Bacteria found in human and animal waste showed up in the previous tests, health officials said.
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Look to the USACE for the Problem, not the Solution to Problem
No Colonel Hansen! It’s not the hundreds of (feral) mallards and resident Canada Geese of the Lynnhaven basin and its not the dogs….it’s the hundreds of thousands of homo sapiens of Virginia Beach using a poorly designed HRSD sanitary sewer system. That in times of heavy rainfall, or large storm surges, floods the Lynnhaven basin and all our beaches with fecal coliforms!
Want proof? How about having an independent microbiology lab do blind sample DNA testing on the fecal coliforms? No political arm twisting, please! A good lab can tell the source of the fecal coliforms…human vs. canine vs. avian!....
The Source of these Fecal Coliform Bacteria
No Colonel Hansen! It’s not the hundreds of (feral) mallards and resident Canada Geese of the Lynnhaven basin and its not the dogs….it’s the hundreds of thousands of homo sapiens of Virginia Beach using a poorly designed HRSD sanitary sewer system. That in times of heavy rainfall, or large storm surges, floods the Lynnhaven basin and all our beaches with fecal coliforms!
Want proof? How about having an independent microbiology lab do blind sample DNA testing on the fecal coliforms? No political arm twisting, please! A good lab can tell the source of the fecal coliforms…human vs. canine vs. avian!....
The Sanitary Sewers Overflow After Heavy Rains & Storm Surges
However, I would agree that the mallards and geese do play a (minor) role in the coliform problem. And that’s why our group has called for a special residential Canada Goose (and feral mallard) hunting season as so many forward thinking North American municipalities have done. To achieve the necessary behavior modification of these birds.
But for Hansen to implicate the birds (and dogs) without mentioning the faulty design of the HRSD sanitary sewer system, combined with the loss of those critical tidal marshes’ filter systems is…disingenuous! And now Hansen is telling us that hydraulic pipeline dredge restoration of the fringe marshes of the Western Branch of the Lynnhaven River is ill advised! ….My ! My! My!
Search: NASA’s BC Wolverton re: the ability of healthy marshland to efficiently remove fecal coliform organisms….
It's About the Hydrology and the Sediment!
However, I would agree that the mallards and geese do play a (minor) role in the coliform problem. And that’s why our group has called for a special residential Canada Goose (and feral mallard) hunting season as so many forward thinking North American municipalities have done. To achieve the necessary behavior modification of these birds.
But for Hansen to implicate the birds (and dogs) without mentioning the faulty design of the HRSD sanitary sewer system, combined with the loss of those critical tidal marshes’ filter systems is…disingenuous! And now Hansen is telling us that hydraulic pipeline dredge restoration of the fringe marshes of the Western Branch of the Lynnhaven River is ill advised! ….My ! My! My!
Search: NASA’s BC Wolverton re: the ability of healthy marshland to efficiently remove fecal coliform organisms….
Can you contact me?
Hi George,
I've read alot of your posts and have some questions I'd like to ask you. Can you contact me?
You could use hamptonroads@wynwood.net to let me know how to contact you.
Thanks - Todd Wacome
DNA Testing Could Reveal the Source of These Fecal Coliforms
Finally, it was Hansen that brainstormed the $180 million offshore pipelines at 16th, 41st, 79th and, now, 61st streets. Pipelines that don’t work when needed the most, during heavy rains and storm surges…. $180 million dollars borrowed from the Chinese…and they don’t work! Just like the $2.1 billion he blew on the Red River Waterway when he was in Louisiana…. 2.1 billion dollars!!! Read about the money that Hansen et al wasted in Louisiana in Michael Grunwald’s best seller, “Cry Me a River”
Would it not had been better to spend a tiny fraction of that $180 million to rebuild the marshland of the Lynnhaven basin, Lake Holly and Lake Tecumseh by hydraulic pipeline dredge, as has been done in Louisiana and south San Francisco Bay? And to let these backwater marshlands filter the sanitary sewer overflows. As Mother Nature had intended.
To learn more search: George Meredith MD Comments.
George Meredith MD, President
Linkhorn Rudee Waterway Fund
The skeptic in me...
Hmmm... Where did all the bacteria go? Funny how it all went away just before the Labor Day weekend and ECSC event.
Have a great time guys and gals, and good luck in the competition.
Last one in the water buys lunch
“We are clear,” Sutton said. “All the beaches are open.”
Good news for surfers.
Let's see what they got!
Bad Facts
JohnGalt22, you betray considerable ignorance of the martime industry if you think those are "cargo containers" seeking to avoid docking fees. I live right on the bay, and I don't recall ever seeing a container ship in the mooring area. Another commenter correctly identified them as bulk carriers waiting for a loading slot at one of the coal piers, not as you say seeking to avoid docking fees. You also betray ignorance of very tightly enforced environmetal regulations applicable to these ships.
What are the facts?
Where is the bacteria coming from? If you look at the figures, we have had a decrease in the number of tourists thanks to the soft economy. The article suggests that people and animals may be the cause by saying "Bacteria found in human and animal waste showed up in the previous tests, health officials said." But no one has pointed any fingers as to the exact cause- why is that? I'm the first to admit I don't work in the maritime industry currently, but my time in the Navy gave me some perspective on just how "tightly" regulations are enforced. Similar to how "tightly" they are enforced in other industries, like coal mining, or food production. Have there been any violations logged for illegal discharge? I don't know, just curious. It's hard for me to believe that a handful of dogs that aren't even allowed on the beach during the majority of the day and bathers that may urinate in the water are the culprit. I am willing to admit I'm mistaken if someone, perhaps the health officials testing the water, come forward with an explanation of the source of said bacteria. Otherwise you and I can only speculate.