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Rehoboth can’t take water advisory lightly

July 21, 2016

Rehoboth Beach and all towns along Delaware's coast pride themselves on the quality of their ocean swimming water. Clean water and beaches bring high marks from organizations that rank beaches. Those ratings, along with Rehoboth's other attractions like its thriving business and Boardwalk scene, place it consistently in the top group of America's best beaches.

That's why it was so disconcerting when the state issued a water quality advisory June 22 for the ocean waters of Rehoboth between Baltimore Avenue and Norfolk Street.

The advisory alerted the public that there were higher than acceptable level of fecal-related enterococcus bacteria in the waters. The state's announcement said such bacteria can cause digestive distress to people with immunodeficiencies and those who ingest too much bacteria-filled water.

While the advisory was lifted two days later when the problem cleared, the negative findings had already made their way through the news cycle. Being as sensitive as possible to such an announcement on the eve of the high summer season, the state took great pains to minimize the potential problem.

It speculated that the indicator fecal bacteria likely came from wildlife such as shorebirds feasting on horseshoe crab eggs, seagulls, and marine mammals. Domestic pets could also have been the source. They said no human sources of raw sewage - such as a sewer overflow - had affected coastal beaches.

Officials noted that on the same day of the Rehoboth advisory, samples collected from Cape Henlopen to Fenwick Island showed no problems. They also noted that heavy rains may have washed the bacteria into Rehoboth waters.

Porpoises, red knots, seagulls pooping in the ocean? Yes, fish too, but certainly not enough for an advisory. Pet waste and other bacteria sources washed into the ocean by heavy rains outfalling through stormwater pipes? That we can buy.

It rained more than an inch and a half that week. Determining, precisely, the source of this problem should be top priority for Rehoboth Beach. Something went wrong. Something needs to be done.

Maybe monitors in the stormwater system would shed light. For obvious reasons, Rehoboth Beach cannot take this situation lightly.

  • Editorials are considered and written by Cape Gazette Editorial Board members, including Publisher Chris Rausch, Editor Jen Ellingsworth, News Editor Nick Roth and reporters Ron MacArthur and Chris Flood. 

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