South Ossabaw

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The Beach Water Monitoring program is a cooperative effort of the Coastal Resources Division and the Coastal Health District. All public beach waters are monitored for the presence of fecal coliform bacteria, specifically enterococci. Georgia coastal waters are monitored year round but the peak monitoring season is from April - October. The beach water on Tybee Island, St. Simons Island, and Jekyll Island is tested weekly. However, from December to March Tier I beaches are tested bi-weekly. Tier II beaches along coastal Georgia are tested monthly. As of January 1, 2016, the Beach Monitoring and Notification Program began using a new bacterial level threshold – recommended by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) – in order to determine when swimming advisories should be issued. The new bacterial threshold value recommended by the EPA is more protective of public health. A coastal beach is marked Green when the single sample results show Enterococci counts below 100 cfu / 100ml of water or when the geometric mean of 5 samples are fewer than 35 MPN (Most Probable Number) colonies of Enterococci per 100 ml of water. All other waters are marked Green when the single sample results show Enterococci counts below 200 cfu / 100ml of water. A coastal beach is marked Red when two consecutive single sample results show Enterococci counts above 100 cfu/ 100 ml of water or when the geometric mean of 5 samples is greater than 35 MPN of Enterococci / 100 ml of water. All other waters are marked Red when two consecutive single sample results show Enterococci counts above 200 cfu/ 100 ml of water. A beach is marked Grey when there is no current or reliable monitoring information available.