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2007 Swimming Season Update
New Jersey
September 2008
- Introduction
- 2007 Summary Results
- For More Information
- Print version (PDF) of this document (347 K, 2 pp.; About PDF)
- Raw data (MS-Excel) for New Jersey (208 K)
Introduction
Figure 1. New Jersey coastal counties with 2007 monitored beach data.
The BEACH Act of 2000 requires that coastal and Great Lakes states and territories report to EPA on beach monitoring and notification data for their coast recreation waters. The BEACH Act defines coastal recreation waters as the Great Lakes and coastal waters (including coastal estuaries) that states, territories, and authorized tribes officially recognize or designate for swimming, bathing, surfing, or similar activities in the water.
This fact sheet summarizes beach monitoring and notification data submitted to EPA by the state of New Jersey for the 2007 swimming season.
The New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) has been monitoring coastal recreational bathing beaches since 1974 with the participation of local environmental health agencies. Water quality samples are collected once a week at 264 ocean and bay beaches and analyzed for enterococci bacteria.
In addition to water quality monitoring, DEP's Water Monitoring and Standards Bureau of Marine Water Monitoring performs aerial surveillance of nearshore coastal waters. These surveillance flights enable the evaluation of coastal water quality and the assessment of the nature and extent of public reports of ocean pollution. Surveillance flights continue to record a decrease in the quantity of floatable trash and debris in the coastal waterways compared to the years prior to 1990.
Updated beach conditions and water quality results are posted each day from Memorial Day through Labor Day on the DEP Web site 
and on the phone at 1-800-648-SAND.
| County | Total Beaches | Monitored | Not Monitored |
|---|---|---|---|
| Atlantic | 48 | 48 | 0 |
| Cape May | 69 | 69 | 0 |
| Middlesex | 4 | 4 | 0 |
| Monmouth | 59 | 59 | 0 |
| Ocean | 84 | 84 | 0 |
| Totals | 264 | 264 | 0 |
2007 Summary Results
How many notification actions were reported and how long were they?
Figure 2: Beach notification actions by duration.
New Jersey's approach is when bacteria results exceed the standard of 104 enterococci per 100 mL of water, the beach is resampled to confirm the result. If a second sample exceeds the standard, the beach is closed until additional sampling shows that bacteria levels in the water are again within the standard. Sample results are posted on the DEP Web site. A total of 15 monitored beaches had at least one notification action issued during the 2007 swimming season. About 83 percent of New Jersey's 76 notification actions lasted two days or less. Figure 2 presents a full breakdown of notification action durations.
What percentage of days were beaches under a notification action?
Figure 3: Beach days with and without notification actions in 2007.
For New Jersey's 2007 swimming season, actions were reported about 0.4 percent of the time (Figure 3).
How do 2007 results compare to previous years?
Table 2 compares 2007 notification action data with monitored beach data from previous years.
| Year | 2005 | 2006 | 2007 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Number of monitored beaches | 325 | 325 | 264 |
| Number of beaches affected by notification actions | 12 | 22 | 15 |
| Percentage of beaches affected by notification actions | 4% | 7% | 6% |
| Percentage of beach days affected by notification actions | 0.2% | 0.3% | 0.4% |
What pollution sources affect monitored beaches?
In 2007, New Jersey reports that 100 percent of their monitored beaches have no known potential sources of pollution.
Figure 4: Percent of monitored beaches potentially affected by pollution sources (264 beaches).
For More Information
New Jersey's 2006 Beach Season Data | General information about beaches
For information about beaches in New Jersey: DEP Web site or 1-800-648-SAND.
