Delaware Beaches Some of the Cleanest in the Nation, Inland Bays Not So Much

A recent report by the National Resources Defense Council named Delaware’s beaches the best in the nation, tying them with both New Hampshire and Virginia in quality. Maryland was only slightly lower, coming in eighth place. Beaches in the Delmarva area won this honor by having water samples that were almost entirely free of harmful levels of bacteria—only one percent were above national standards.

So what beaches should you flock to for enjoying what is left of summer? The report gave four stars to Delaware’s Rehoboth, Dewey, Bethany and Fenwick Island beaches and five starts to Maryland’s Ocean City beaches. Higher ratings would have gone to Delaware’s beaches if the water had been sampled with greater frequency.

What exactly does this testing mean and what does it tell you about the safety of your beach outings? In order to get the samples, testers wade out into water, collect a sample and send it back to the lab for testing. While there they also test the water for salinity, temperature and oxygen levels. The samples are analyzed at the lab to determine if there are any bacteria present that could indicate that human waste products or other harmful substances are in the water. In Delaware, these tests are performed once a week during the warmer months of the year to ensure water quality stays high and public safety in ensured.

Unfortunately, while Oceanside beaches may be some of the cleanest in the nation inland beaches and bays don’t fare so well. This year Delaware has seen the closing of Seashore State Park bayside at Tower Road and Holts Landing Beach due to high levels of bacteria in the water. These areas are not alone, as a permanent caution remains in place for Indian River Bay, Rehoboth Bay and Little Assawoman Bay. While these levels are not alarmingly high, they do a mark a need to protect beaches of all kinds from harmful pollutants to ensure they can stay open and conducive to the economic interests of the area.

This post was contributed by Jill Gordon, who writes about the http://www.OnlineCollege.org online college.