July 2005
For the first entire summer ever, The Town of Kennebunkport is participating in the Maine Healthy Beaches program which is a cooperative partnership to test the water quality of Maine Beaches around the State. Volunteers take water sample tests at various locations at least once each week.
Currently in our town, there are five sites tested at Goose Rocks Beach, and one site tested at Colony Beach. The samples are tested for the presence of enterococci bacteria.
It is important to note that animal (including all shore birds, seals, ducks and dogs) and human feces can cause these levels to become elevated. Children in the water with dirty diapers can also affect these results.
Under the Maine Healthy Beaches program, if these tests identify bacteria levels at or above 100 colony-forming units per 100 milliliters of water, the public is notified. There are signs located at multiple locations at Goose Rocks and one location at Colony Beach.
As those who have visited Goose Rocks for many years know, approximately 12 years ago, the majority of homes at Goose Rocks Beach eliminated individual septic systems and were connected to a public sewer system. That action obviously had a POSITIVE IMPACT on local groundwater quality at Goose Rocks. No other known major changes that would affect the water quality have taken place in the last 30 + years. To our knowledge, visitors have safely enjoyed the ocean here for many years.
The Town of Kennebunkport will continue to monitor the water quality at Goose Rocks and Colony Beach and post their findings on a weekly basis. We will also continue to work cooperatively with the State of Maine Department of Environmental Protection and our surrounding communities in order to identify potential sources of any elevated levels of bacteria.
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