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5 Saipan beaches red-flagged
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Posted on Jul 24 2008
The Division of Environmental Quality has raised the red flag on five beach sites on Saipan and is warning the public not to fish or swim within 300 feet of these locations for the next 48 hours or until otherwise notified.
The affected sites are DPW Channel Bridge, South Puerto Rico Dump, American Memorial Park, Hafa Adai Drainage, and Sugar Dock.
The division said water samples taken from these sites contained concentrations of fecal indicator bacteria—enterococci—that exceeded the CNMI Marine Water Quality Standards. These bacteria can indicate the presence of human and animal waste in the water.
The division also analyzed water samples from Tinian’s recreational beaches and storm water drains and none of the samples contained excessive concentrations of fecal indicator bacteria. DEQ assigned a green flag on all of the sampled beach sites on Tinian.
DEQ analyzes water from Saipan’s recreational beaches and storm drainages every Wednesday. This week it took samples taken from 38 locations on Saipan’s coast. On Tinian, the division analyzed samples from 10 locations. For more information, call DEQ at 664-8500. [B][I](DEQ)[/I][/B]
