Holiday Harbor

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Assateague Coastal Trust (ACT) samples watersport recreation locations in Isle of Wight Bay, Assawoman Bay, St. Martin River, Turville Creek and Herring Creek once weekly. Currently, ACT's Tidal Waters Monitoring Program collects samples the week leading into Memorial Day Weekend. Weekly sampling is carried out through Labor Day week. Samples are generally collected on Thursdays, with lab results available 24 hours following the sample event. Sample results are available at https://www.actforbays.org/data. Samples collected are analyzed for the presence of Entrococcus bacteria, which serve as an indicator bacteria for pathogens in the water. Sample processing is carried out 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 ocean side beaches in Worcester County weekly from May - September. These samples are tested for Enterococcus bacteria. 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 stated standards. ACT cautions that bayside water recreationists and swimmers 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.