Public Landing Pier

A public swimming area located in the tiny village of Public Landing, MD. Provides public access to the Chincoteague Bay, with two boat ramps, a fishing pier and swimmers access from the pier to the bay. Caution - this location is always posted to never swim within a 48 hour time period after a rainfall.

A short drive west from Public Landing will take you to the quaint little town of Snow Hill, MD, with restaurants, art galleries, antique shops and two Bed & Breakfast homes. Find out more about Snow Hill here: http://www.snowhillmd.com/

This sampling site is tested by Worcester County. Find out more here:
http://www.co.worcester.md.us/Envpgms/bathingbeaches.aspx

Get directions to this beach

COVID-19

Keep your distance from other people.

Practicing social distancing is essential right now. Follow the advice of the health experts. If your community has asked that you remain indoors and away from others, do so. Heading to the beach should only be considered an option if social distancing practices can be followed. Spending a day in any crowded place is the worst thing we can do for our most vulnerable right now and will counter the efforts to curb the virus’ spread.

For more information, please visit the World Health Organization public resource on COVID-19.

Water Quality

Passed water quality tests 60-95% of the time
Historical Status
This status is based on the latest sample, taken on September 4th, 2020. Assateague Coastkeeper updates the status of this beach as soon as test results become available. These results were posted to Swim Guide on September 4th, 2020 at 8:55 AM.

For water quality icon legend, click:

Current Weather

2°C

Clear and sunny

Report Pollution

Monitoring Frequency

Source Information

Assateague Coastkeeper samples watersport recreation locations in Isle of Wight Bay, St. Martin River, Turville Creek and Herring Creek every Wednesday from the week before Memorial Day through Labor Day. Samples results are generally reported on Thursdays and Swim Guide is updated as soon as possible to reflect the latest results.

Our samples are measured for Entroccoci bacteria, which serve as an indicator bacteria for pathogens in the water. Analysis is performed by Coastkeeper Staff using the Enterolert Quanti-Tray 2000 system. The Environmental Protection Agency has set a threshold of 104 colony forming units per 100 milliliters (cfu/100ml) as the single test limit for weekly testing. Samples recording less than 104 cfu/100ml are therefore considered "safe levels." Samples recording 104 cfu/100ml or greater are considered "unsafe" due to the increased risk of illness.

Worcester County Environmental Programs samples bathing beaches in Worcester County weekly during the bathing beach season. Samples are collected every Monday and Tuesday and Wednesday and are tested for enterococcus bacteria. Results are available on Tuesday and Wednesday at the website: http://www.co.worcester.md.us/departments/env/beaches
A running geometric mean of each site, using a minimum of 5 samples taken over a 30-day period, is calculated. For enterococcus, the geometric mean should not exceed 35 organisms per 100 ml (35 MPN), with no single sample exceeding 104 organisms per 100 ml. Enterococcus serves as the sole indicator for evaluating water quality and determining beach advisories. An advisory is issued for a sampling site, if bacterial levels exceed the above state standards.

Coastkeeper cautions that bayside water sport recreationalists and swimmers should adopt a no swimming/no direct water contact plan for 48 hours on any bayside beaches or bayside water recreation spots that are adjacent to developed areas, due to the possibility of elevated bacteria levels from rainwater runoff and increased health risks.

Swimmers on the oceanside beaches of Ocean City and Assateague Island should check Swim Guide for bathing beach advisories after a heavy rainfall.

Water Quality Graph