(BECQ) — The Bureau of Environmental and Coastal Quality has analyzed water samples collected from Saipan’s east and south recreational beaches as well as from Tinian’s recreational beaches and stormwater drainages, and Managaha’s recreational beaches and dock.
Samples collected from the following Saipan location contained excessive concentrations of fecal indicator bacteria or enterococci that exceeded CNMI marine water quality standards. These bacteria can indicate the presence of human and animal waste in the water.
However, studies have shown that storm water runoff in tropical environments may also contain these bacteria from the natural environment, which may not be directly associated with public health concerns.
Still, to adequately address public health concerns, BECQ has given the following Saipan location a red flag and advises the public not to fish or swim within 300 feet of the location for the next 48 hours or until otherwise notified:
Ladder Beach
On Managaha and Tinian, none of the samples collected contained excessive concentration of fecal indicator bacteria nor did they exceed CNMI marine water quality standards. Therefore, BECQ assigns all of the sampled Managaha and Tinian beach sites a green flag.
