EPA grant to improve beach water quality

OLD ORCHARD BEACH – The Environmental Protection Agency announced Wednesday a $257,000 grant will go to the State Planning Office to improve and expand water quality monitoring and public notification programs at coastal beaches.

The announcement was made at Old Orchard Beach, one of 30 pilot beaches participating in Maine’s Healthy Coastal Beaches Program, a 2-year-old effort to improve monitoring and water quality.

Two Portland-area beaches were closed for at least one day last year because of pollution. High bacteria counts have been reported early this summer at some Maine beaches during rainy weather.

“We’ve made progress cleaning our waters across New England, but there are still too many days when families cannot swim due to poor water quality,” said Robert Varney, regional administrator of the EPA’s regional office in Boston.

“Even in Maine, where waters are relatively clean, we must work to eliminate dirty storm runoff and other pollution that leads to unhealthy swimming conditions.”

The Healthy Coastal Beaches Program, coordinated by the University of Maine Cooperative Extension Service and Sea Grant, aims to develop a standardized monitoring program, regional laboratories and education and outreach materials to keep the public informed about water quality issues at state beaches.