(BECQ) — The Bureau of Environmental and Coastal Quality analyzes water samples collected from Saipan’s west coast recreational beaches and storm drainages every week.
Samples collected from Smiling Cove Marina 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 Smiling Cove Marina 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.
BECQ also analyzed water samples collected from Saipan’s east and south recreational beaches this week as part of the regularly scheduled sampling. None of the samples collected contained excessive concentration of fecal indicator bacteria nor did they exceed CNMI marine water quality standards. Therefore, BECQ assigns the sampled beach sites a green flag.
