PORTLAND, Maine — Several Maine beaches have been flagged after environmental officials detect high levels of bacteria this week. Health experts are now cautioning about the potential risks.
Beaches in Portland, Ogunquit, Kennebunk, Kennebunkport, Camden, Rockport, and more were flagged this week for high levels of enterococci bacteria after the Maine Healthy Beaches program conducted routine testing. As of Friday, Rockport was the only community listed with a beach under current advisory.
Maine Department of Environmental Protection Coordinator Meagan Sims said many beaches often rely on the work of local volunteers to test each beach's water.
"Our program is not only focused on collecting those samples and knowing about bacteria problems, but it's about notifying the public," Sims said.
Signs are often posted at the 60 beaches the program routinely monitors, which can notify beachgoers if an advisory has been posted.
"Our protocol when we have elevated bacteria is to always make every effort to what we call re-sample that location," Sims added.
Advisories are only removed once bacteria levels are restored to a healthy amount.
Maine Health Chief Health Improvement Officer Dr. Dora Anne Mills said the kinds of bacteria often found in contaminated water could cause uncomfortable health issues like gastrointestinal illnesses or even swimmer's itch.
"Types of bacteria you'd find in stool ... whether it be stool from kids with diapers on, or Canadian geese, or other waterfowl," Mills explained.
If you're uncertain about the water levels before jumping into the ocean, Mills also recommends taking a moment to monitor the number of animals present or even the water circulation, which could help or hurt the volume of contaminants being flushed out of the area.
To see if your go-to beach is under advisory, click here.