07/01/2019
Sorry for copying this old story from 2003 but it is timely. Again after all these years the State of Oregon still has too much sewage in our crown Jewel park.
Thanks KATU
From KATU News, December 17, 2003
COOS BAY – This week, two of the state’s most beautiful sandy stretches near Coos Bay continue under a nearly month long “Health Advisory” from the Office of Public Health.
People who go in the water at Sunset Bay State Park or Bastendorff Beach are at risk from contamination that may make them sick.
Surfers like Dan Marshal and Carmen Conn have experienced that risk first hand. They each became sick after surfing near Sunset Bay. According to Marshal, the symptoms were immediate and striking:
“I got out in the water and as soon as I laid on my board and started paddling around my eyes started to burn. Then my nose and throat were burning too. That was almost a month ago and I’m still feeling the effects of it.”
Carmen Conn was surfing in the same area that week too. She became sick and so did her dog, Nah-Loo, who almost died after swimming in the water.
“He had bacteria that had grown from the first part of his intestinal track all the way to the other end. Plus, the vet said there was a big mass of bacteria that had grown to the point of nearly shutting him down and killing him.”
A few days after Marshal and Conn’s symptoms became apparent, the state’s health advisory for elevated f***l-coloform bacteria was posted at Sunset Bay State Park. Simply put, there was too much sewage in the water.
The nearby state park campground is the largest development along “Big Creek” that flows directly into Sunset Bay. While the park attracts nearly 750,000 visitors each year, park manager Larry Becker says some of the park’s restrooms are more than fifty years old.
“We try to kind of hide things with cosmetic upgrades, like dry rot in the walls, or deficiencies of the bath fixtures. It’s really the same plumbing system inside the restroom that was put in the building when it was built.”
Becker adds that underground plumbing upgrades were installed the early 90′s, so he doesn’t think the pollution’s coming from the park. However, he’s less certain about the park’s nearby waste-water lagoons that hold the sewage. Could they be leaking?
“I can’t really say – we don’t think so, but we’ve never done – state parks or any other agency – hasn’t done a study to see that whether what happens up here in the lagoons could be going back down towards Sunset Bay.”
That brings this story to a nearby classroom in Coos Bay’s Marshfield High School at George Tinker’s “Estuary Science” class. Here, the students voluntarily test beach water each month and at times they’ve found very high levels of f***l bacteria. But Tinker says it’s harder to find the cause.
“It’s very, very complex and difficult to point a finger – you’ve got ocean water circulation and currents, tidal influences, then run-off from the shorelands, older septic tanks, wildlife. All of which means that further studies are needed to go after those answers.”
For now, those answers will have to wait because there’s no funding to find the pollution’s source. But Carmen Conn says there’s one thing that should happen to protect everyone’s health.
“They (Oregon beaches) need to be tested on a very frequent basis. Look at California and some east coast areas that have literally been shut down – in those places you’re not even allowed to even go near the water – Please don’t let that happen to Oregon.”
But it is happening in Oregon! In fact, tests from Sunset Bay recently resulted in f***l-coloform bacteria levels 20 times higher than what the state Office of Public Health allows.
So far, a total of seven beaches in Tillamook, Lincoln, Coos and Curry counties have been posted with health advisories warning people to stay out of the ocean in the past three months. As a precaution, health officials advise visitors and their pets to avoid contact with the water and to wash their hands before leaving the beach to avoid contamination.
Originally appeared at http://www.katu.com/news/story.asp?ID=63186
Posted in: Water Quality.
Tagged: beaches · f***l coliform · health department
KATU ABC 2 offers coverage of news, weather, sports and community events for Portland, Oregon and surrounding towns, including Beaverton, Lake Oswego, Milwaukie, Happy Valley, Gresham, Vancouver, Hillsboro, Oregon City, Tualatin, West Linn, Woodburn, Tigard, Tualatin and Garden Home.
