West Bay at Jamaica Beach

Source Information

Galveston Bay Foundation’s citizen scientist volunteers monitor water quality at sites throughout Galveston Bay. These volunteers sample once a month for basic water chemistry (pH, DO, temp, Salinity, Transparency) and Enterococcus. There are three levels of advisories in Texas. The lowest level occurs when enterococcus densities are below 35 cfu (colony forming units)/100 ml. A medium-level advisory occurs when enterococcus densities are between 35 cfu/100 ml and 104 cfu/100 ml, and a high-level advisory is issued, with swimming not recommended, when the enterococcus density is greater than 104 cfu/100 ml. The public is notified of all advisory levels on the Internet, but signs are posted on the beach and in Swim Guide for high-level advisories. A beach is marked Green when single sample results contain fewer than 104 cfu/100 ml of water. A beach is marked Red when single sample results contain more than 104 cfu/100 ml of water. A beach is marked Grey when there is no current or reliable monitoring information available.