Bay St. Louis Beach

Source Information

Mississippi has fully implemented the BEACH Act Monitoring and Notification Program, which includes the implementation of the EPA recommended Enterococci criteria of 104 enterococci/100ml. A total of 22 beaches segments are monitored once a week throughout the entire year under the Beach Monitoring Program. On behalf of the Beach Monitoring Task Force, MDEQ sends press releases to local media to alert the public, signs are posted at the sampling locations, and a website is maintained with current information about which sites are under an advisory and which are not (http://www.usm.edu/gcrl/msbeach/index.cgi). Email alerts are also available to the public. Swim Guide checks the MDEQ website daily from Monday - Friday for the latest updates. For both marine and estuarine coastal recreational waters, water contact advisories are issued by Mississippi’s Beach Monitoring Task Force when enterococci counts exceed 104 per 100 ml. A beach must meet water quality criteria in two consecutive samples for an advisory to be lifted. A beach is marked Green when single sample results show there are fewer than 104 units of Enterococci per 100 ml of water. A beach is marked Red when single sample results show there are more than 104 units of Enterococci per 100 ml of water. A beach remains posted until TWO consecutive samples meet water quality standards following an advisory. A beach is marked Grey when there is no current or reliable monitoring information available.