Three weeks ago, Travis Spaeth spent his Thursday evening swimming at the beach in Garapan. Next thing he knew, he had a swollen foot, fighting an infection.

He had a small almost-healed cut on his ankle when he swam at the beach. A day after, it became sore, and then got completely engorged and painful a few days later, and his whole foot began to swell up.

Spaeth, who is an engineer and works as the Safe Drinking Water Program manager at the Bureau of Environmental and Coastal Quality, is not the only one. While not 100% certain that he got it from the waters, he said he knows of at least one other person who experienced the same, along with a pretty severe infection. And, there could be more.

“I ended up having to get on some medication to fight of the infection as my foot had swelled up so bad due to the infection,” he added.

Could it possibly be the waters? BECQ samples the beaches on Saipan’s west coast weekly for fecal bacteria contamination, and issues a red flag advisory when levels exceed the standards recommended for recreational activities, such as swimming or fishing. Water quality sampling in the area last week showed that fecal bacteria was 15 times higher than the safe level for recreation.

In a joint study the bureau did with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and the American University, published in September last year, fecal bacteria indicators were found to be widespread throughout the coastal waters of Saipan.

Higher levels are found along the shore of the central Saipan Lagoon, particularly around the Garapan fishing dock, as well as the drainage area of the Fiesta hotel.

The study also showed that most fecal bacteria found at Fiesta hotel’s beach is human in origin, with a significantly smaller amount of fecal bacteria coming from dogs. Contact with human fecal bacteria has the most potential to make people sick.

In an interview, TanHoldings vice president Alex Sablan stressed the corporation’s commitment to providing quality service to its patrons, and stated, “The water quality of our pristine beach is important to us and we would want to work with the government to do our part to ensure a positive experience for our guests.” Fiesta Resort & Spa is a subsidiary of TanHoldings Corp.

Fecal bacteria on the beach?

According to the Environmental Protection Agency, fecal indicator bacteria, such as enterococci, live in the intestinal tracts of warm-blooded animals, including humans, and its presence in waterbodies could mean possible contamination by fecal waste.

Its presence mean that there could be disease-causing bacteria and viruses in the waters, which can make swimmers, or anyone who contacts the beach, or eat raw fish or shellfish, to get sick, and possibly get diseases or infections of the skin, eyes, ears, and the respiratory tract.

Directly defecating while swimming is not the only way fecal bacteria could get to the waters.

They can also come from leaking septic systems, storm water runoff, sewage dumped from boats, animal and wildlife waste, improper sewage, wastewater treatment plant effluent, or runoffs from manure storage areas, and can also come from plants, sand, soil and sediments.

A separate study also attributed fecal contamination at the Fiesta drainage from sanitary sewer overflow, and runoff from roads and construction/maintenance during rain events.

Sewers overwhelmed with infiltration, especially during large rain events, can cause an overflow, which gets washed down to the ocean.

Government agencies, such as the Commonwealth Utilities Corp. and the Department of Public Works, have facilitated tests to check if building sewers are accidentally connected to the storm drains. During heavy rains, DPW closely coordinates with BECQ in monitoring the overflow from the drainage near Fiesta.

What can you do to help?

Aside from stating the obvious, and that is, to not defecate on the beach, and to not let animals do it either, BECQ offers the following easy tips that everyone can also do to help.

1. For the average homeowner, don’t put oil and grease down the drain. Doing so clogs the sewage system, and when the system gets clogged, the pumps can no longer work the sewage treatment system, and this could lead to an overflow.

When the rain comes, sewage overflow gets washed down the street, or mixes with the rainwater, draining the sewage down to the ocean, especially over at Fiesta because there’s a storm water outfall.

2. If you’re on a septic system, see if there is a sewer line within a certain distance to your house, and hook up to the sewer system. This way, your wastes would go to the wastewater treatment plant instead of into your yard.

3. For small livestock farmers, there are grant programs through USDA’s Natural Resources Conservation Science, that could provide for farm septic systems, wastewater holding tanks with regular pump out, or dry little piggeries for composting waste.

4. If you see a potential overflow or any water pollution, report it to BECQ so the issue can be addressed head on. You may contact their office at 664-8500.

5. To help disseminate information and resolve this fecal bacteria issue on CNMI waters, please help educate others and pass this information to those who might need it too.

Now well after his infection, Spaeth is calling on the government to continue to reduce or eliminate all sewer overflows, and for all storm drains to be tested to ensure no sewer lines are accidentally connected to them.

As for the public, he advises everyone to be careful when swimming in the ocean, especially near drainage channels and after heavy rain.

“Always be mindful of minor cuts or abrasions that allow bacteria to enter the body and cause infections… and be mindful of not littering, clean up all areas that may or may not lead to contaminating water ways, where people can be exposed through storm water runoff.”

Have you ever found yourself going to the beach, swimming your heart out, only to have rashes and get all itchy later? That is what the beach flags are for, as an advisory for all of us that the water quality on a particular site has gone over standard levels that makes it unsafe to swim or fish in that area, at least for 48 hours.

We only have to watch out for two kinds of flags: A green flag is for when it is safe for us to swim or fish, and a red flag is the opposite, when the water quality sample from a beach site exceeds advisory levels, meaning, it may be unsafe to swim or fish within 300 feet of the posted signs.

Just this month alone, so many sites got “red flagged,” including the West Harbor Marina, Talakhaya Beach, Garapan Fishing Dock, Garapan Beach, Bird Island, Smiling Cove Marina, Chalan Laulau Beach, Hidden Beach, Old Man by the Sea, and the Grotto (despite being closed to the public).

The beach signs are there to help protect us. The Division of Environmental Quality of the Bureau of Environmental and Coastal Quality regularly samples the beaches and coastal areas in the CNMI for bacteria concentration, and then advises us, through the beach flags, to make sure we are all safe.

BECQ samples 85 locations throughout the whole CNMI, including 12 beach sites on Rota, 10 on Tinian, 11 on Managaha, and then the rest, on Saipan.

Where are the beach flags?

Currently, there are 12 sites on Saipan that has the physical beach flag signs, but weekly beach flag advisories, covering all the other sites, are posted on social media, in the news, and on the DEQ website (http://www.deq.gov.mp).

Physical beach advisory signs are placed at the most frequented, highest-used beach areas on island—Grotto, Tanapag Meeting Hall, DPW Channel Bridge (Lower Base), Micro Beach, Grandvrio Hotel, Garapan Fishing Base, Garapan Beach (13 Fishermen’s Memorial), Civic Center Beach, Sugar Dock, CK District No. 2 Drain (Aquarius Beach), and Kanoa Resort.

All these 12 beaches get sampled weekly. DEQ samples the west side of Saipan and the Grotto weekly, with the rest of the others sites on an eight-week rotational sampling schedule—where every eight weeks, sites are shifted from monthly to weekly.

Unfortunately, BECQ currently does not have the staff nor the laboratory capacity to sample every site. Despite that, they would resample more than once if they see very high bacteria levels on a site. Resampling is done 48 hours after the first sample, to see if another red flag should be issued at that site.

Protecting public health

A red flag happens when samples taken from the beach are analyzed and are found to have exceeded CNMI water quality standards, which are based on U.S. Environmental Protection Agency recommended criteria for bacteria.

Samples taken at the beach are analyzed at the BECQ laboratory to see if they exceed standards. DEQ has a criteria adopted for enterococci, which is a fecal indicator bacteria, and sampling results are compared to the said criteria to determine if standards have been exceeded.

If standards are exceeded, BECQ issues an advisory for the public not to swim nor fish in that area within 300 feet of the sampling location, for 48 hours.

Fecal indicators could be from any animal, as enterococci is usually present in animal feces. However, DEQ clarifies that there are some small amounts of enterococci present naturally in the environment.

There are organisms in the water, thousands of different types of bacteria in the water, naturally occurring enterococci that is not necessarily linked to the presence of feces. When enterococci occurs naturally, rarely does it cause red flags, as usually they are at levels below the set criteria levels.

BECQ water quality surveillance program manager Larry Maurin explains that the bureau assesses bacteria levels according to the designated uses under the Clean Water Act, one of which is recreation. When the criteria is developed, it’s the level on what would make people sick, in reference to skin contact.

There’s a red flag! What can we do?

“General best practices at the beach is don’t go swimming after heavy rainfall, because the runoff is what causes most of the pollution. If you see the water is brown in color, or there’s been heavy rainfall, you may not want to swim there and go fishing until the waters clear. It’s pretty much common sense. If the water smells, or it’s not clear, you should consider not going there.”

The most common things that happen when people come in contact with water polluted by bacteria are stomach illnesses, ear, nose, and eye infections, skin infections, rashes, itchiness, and even respiratory problems.

“Just be aware of the environment. We don’t close beaches, we’re just trying to inform people so they can keep their families safe and healthy.”

Everyone is also encouraged to use good practices and work with BECQ and other agencies to try to improve water quality in the CNMI.

“We’re not just sampling the water and getting the results, we’re trying to work to address the causes of the water quality impairments and improve them. We encourage the public to get involved in that process, and be educated about it, engage with us on these issues, and work with or talk to their legislators.”

Get updated on beach advisory by signing up on the email list via waterqualityreport@becq.gov.mp or by contacting BECQ’s Water Quality Surveillance/Nonpoint Source branch at 664-853.