A DAY AT THE BEACH

Beach visitors typically aren’t concerned with what’s in the water, unless it’s a shark or jellyfish. Increasingly, however, beaches in Maine and across the country are closed because of bacterial contamination, often from overflowing or outdated sewer-treatment facilities. Although the state is working to upgrade municipal wastewater treatment plants, that work has been slowed in recent years because lawmakers have failed to approve bonds to pay for this work.

Lawmakers earlier this year rejected a $17.5 million bond to pay for drinking water and wastewater system improvements and other environmental projects. The largest share – $6.6 million – was for the Department of Environmental Protection’s wastewater facility construction loan and grant programs, to be matched by $13 million from the federal government. One of the projects the bond would have helped pay for was improvements to the Machias wastewater treatment plant where area clam flats were closed because of water quality, putting at least 80 clammers out of work.

Wastewater treatment problems don’t just affect shellfish harvesters. Last year, beaches in Maine were closed 92 times because of bacterial contamination, according to a recent report from the Natural Resources Defense Council. That was a 65 percent increase over the 56 closed days in 2004, a rise partly attributed to better monitoring.

Maine’s Healthy Coastal Beaches Program sampled water at 49 ocean beaches at least once a week. Water is tested against the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s bacterial standard. If it exceeds the standards, municipal officials are notified and the beach can be closed or advisories posted warning beachgoers of the bacteria problem.

Fifteen percent of all samples exceeded the standard last summer. The most frequently closed beaches were Goose Rock in Kennebunkport and Willard Beach in South Portland.

A significant problem in coastal communities is what are called overboard discharges, where home and business owners are allowed to let minimally treated sewage flow into the ocean, streams and rivers. The DEP is working to eliminate overboard discharges through grants to homeowners to install septic systems and funding for towns to extend sewer lines. About 1,700 licensed overboard discharges remain in Maine, less than half those known in 1987.

“It is an indisputable fact that only through fiduciary support can we continue to meet our obligation to the public and the environment,” Andrew Rudzinski, president of the Maine Waste Water Control Association, wrote recently.

That’s why lawmakers must consider other ways – such as dedicated revenues or a small portion of the general fund – to pay for wastewater upgrades and other infrastructure improvements.