List of Oregon Coast Beaches to be Monitored for Bacteria is Released

Published 05/25/21 at 5:55 PM PDT
By Oregon Coast Beach Connection staff

(Oregon Coast) – Every year, from May through September, the Oregon Beach Monitoring Program (OBMP) kicks into gear and monitors the sands for bacteria. The 2021 season is now on for the Oregon coast, and state officials at the Oregon Health Authority Public Health Division have released the list of beaches that will be sampled.

It's a partnership between the Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) and the Oregon Health Authority (OHA), where beaches are tested for the presence of bacteria, which is mostly fecal in origin when it occurs. The reasons vary: they can be human-caused in some way (often leaking pipes somewhere onshore), excessive animal droppings, and even too many gulls in an area.

The new list includes some of the most frequently visited spots on the Oregon coast, as well as areas where the program has found bacteria in the past. In some cases, local partners and the public have requested monitoring due to potential pollution concerns.

OBMP said the new list of beaches may expand later – more beaches for monitoring could be added in the future.

Beaches now being monitored for the 2021 season:

SEASIDE BEACH – Seaside, Oregon – Clatsop County
CANNON BEACH – Cannon Beach, Oregon – Clatsop County
TOLOVANA STATE PARK BEACH – Cannon Beach, Oregon – Clatsop County
SHORT SAND STATE PARK BEACH – Arch Cape, Oregon – Tillamook County
ROCKAWAY BEACH – Rockaway, Oregon – Tillamook County
TWINS ROCKS BEACH – Twin Rocks, Oregon – Tillamook County
NESKOWIN STATE PARK BEACH – Neskowin, Oregon – Tillamook County
D RIVER STATE PARK BEACH – Lincoln City, Oregon – Lincoln County
BEVERLY BEACH – Newport, Oregon – Lincoln County
AGATE STATE PARK BEACH – Newport, Oregon – Lincoln County
NYE BEACH – Newport, Oregon – Lincoln County
SEAL ROCK STATE PARK BEACH – Seal Rock, Oregon – Lincoln County
HECETA BEACH – Florence, Oregon – Lane County
BASTENDORFF BEACH – Coos Bay, Oregon – Coos County
SUNSET BAY STATE PARK BEACH – Coos Bay, Oregon – Coos County
HUBBARD CREEK BEACH – Port Orford, Oregon – Curry County
HARRIS BEACH STATE PARK – Brookings, Oregon – Curry County
MILL BEACH – Brookings, Oregon – Curry County

Additions this year:

OCEANSIDE – Oceanside, Oregon – Tillamook County
CAPE KIWANDA – Pacific City, - Tillamook County

Beach advisories are issued for those areas being monitored.

When alerts are issued, the public is usually asked to stay out of the water in that area until test samples show bacteria below certain levels. Those warnings usually last for a day to a few days, and testing takes about 24 hours for results.

"As part of an adaptive sampling plan, beaches and sampling locations are routinely re-evaluated to ensure available resources best protect public health," OBMP said

For more information and current beach monitoring conditions please visit: www.healthoregon.org/beach, or contact OBMP at Beach.Health@state.or.us or 971-673-0400.

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