Kings Beach closed for swimming again

LYNN – Lynn officials said they will meet with the state Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) to evaluate current testing efforts and seek further help to eliminate the high bacteria levels that have repeatedly closed Kings Beach to swimming this summer, including on Sunday.”There have always been problems down there, but it seems to be more persistent this summer,” said Lynn Water and Sewer Engineer Andy Hall on Monday.The meeting will take place on Aug. 25.The issue “hasn’t been brought to my attention like it has this year? I would imagine that they would want to see the steps that we’ve taken in order to figure out what the problem is.”Massachusetts Department of Conservation Spokesperson SJ Port could not confirm the number of days that the beach has been closed due to bacteria counts.But information on the Massachusetts Department of Public Health website regarding the Stacy Brook outlet on Kings Beach at the Lynn and Swampscott line has revealed that 19 of 26 times since May tested water samples have shown bacteria levels exceeding the public health standard of 104 colony-forming units per 100 milliliters of water (cfu/100 ml), which would lead to a closure of the beach to swimming.But while elevated bacteria counts are typically attributed to storm events, where storm water runs off dirty streets into the water, a majority of this year’s closures have occurred during dry weather, state and local officials said.As a result, officials in both Swampscott and Lynn – the two communities which contribute water to the Stacy Brook outlet – said they have increased their testing regimen to find the source of the bacteria.Lynn Mayor Judith Flanagan Kennedy said that the state could do more to help the city because Stacy Brook contains water from two communities.”Certainly when you have Lynn and Swampscott both contributing to the outflow,” she said, “(closures) may have minimal economic impact, but it certainly has an impact on the quality of life here.”The Department of Conservation and Recreation (DCR) tests the combined water at Stacy Brook – along with two other sites on the beach – weekly for Enterococci bacteria, according to data on the Massachusetts Department of Public Health (MDPH) website.The website defines Enterococci as a bacteria that is an “indicator” of disease-causing organisms associated with fecal waste.Such bacteria can cause gastrointestinal problems in adults and ear infections in children, according to a previous interview with DCR spokesperson SJ Port, and can be caused by anything from runoff after a rainstorm to a boat illegally dumping its sewage. If the test results – available after 24 hours – show elevated levels of bacteria, the beaches are closed to swimming, according to DCR protocol. Testing is continued daily until bacteria returns to acceptable levels, according to the DCR. Port said that the bacteria can stay for up to a week at Kings Beach due to the location’s geography and weak currents.In addition to the DCR tests, the city is also using another contractor to test the water anytime there is a temporary sewage overflow, Hall said. This occurs during heavy rain events when the influx of storm water temporarily overwhelms the capacity of the sewage treatment plant, Hall said, and occurred Aug. 2 for the first time in 2011.Hall said the city has spent $92 million over the course of 20 years to eliminate the frequency of these events in compliance with federal orders.The Water and Sewer Department is also sampling water at different points throughout the sewer system on a regular basis to detect ammonia and “surfactants,” or other chemicals that immediately indicate bacteria.But DEP’s Colette said that the city still has work to do in order to comply with the federal and state court-orders to clean up their sewer system.”They are still working to make sure there aren’t any connections to the storm water drainage system that should be connected to the sewer system and still trying to f