Mysterious WATERS

The search for what is polluting some Golden Isles beaches from time to time is focusing on one very likely suspect.

By BJ CORBITT

Stan Mooney and his wife, Diane, are no strangers to the beaches of St. Simons Island. They've been making the trek from their home in north Georgia's Forsyth County to vacation in the Golden Isles for three decades.

"We haven't missed a year in 30 years," Mr. Mooney said.

In that time, they have seen changes come to the island in the form of new developments and more crowds on the beaches.

They have noticed something else that is a fairly recent development, too: The occasional sign warning beachgoers to steer clear of the water.

For those who frequent certain spots on Glynn County's shoreline, the sight is no longer an unfamiliar one: In the background unfolds an inviting vista, a natural canvas painted with sea water lapping onto the sand. And in the foreground stands a jarring manmade intrusion - a sign illustrated with a crude stick man out for a swim, a bright red diagonal line slashing across his upper body.

Lest the point be lost, the text below the rendered swimmer reinforces it: "Attention: Swimming in this area is not recommended. Beach water testing indicates a high level of bacteria that increases risk of illness."

For the Mooneys, the risk associated with the advisories isn't enough to ruin their favored vacation spot. They still prefer the sands of St. Simons over places like Panama City, Fla.

"We'd rather deal occasionally with the warnings and not going in the water than with the seaweed coming in every day (in Panama)," Mr. Mooney said. "We still feel more comfortable here."

Since April 2004, the Georgia Department of Natural Resources Coastal Resources Division has monitored beaches for enterecoccus bacteria, a type of bacteria that lives in the intestinal tract and which can cause health problems if ingested by swimmers. The tests have resulted in advisories being posted at beach access points on both St. Simons and Jekyll islands, and even in mainland Glynn County, at times.

Glynn County's beaches saw 549 advisory days in 2004 (total number of days each beach access point was under advisory) and 706 in 2005.

High levels of enterecoccus in the area's beach water is not an issue up for debate. Roughly two years of testing by the DNR has shown the problem to be a persistent one.

The danger is real, health experts insist.

Swimming in sea water with elevated bacteria can lead to gastrointestinal, respiratory or urinary tract infections with symptoms that include sore throat, upset stomach or diarrhea.

A person doesn't even have to swallow the water to become infected. The mouth, eyes, ears, and open wounds can serve as entries for bacteria.

What is sparking discussion at this point is the source of the problem. It is a question that has resulted in no dearth of theories. With definitive answers yet to surface, the possible causes of the problem, as well as its implications, remain open-ended.

University says birds to blame

Researchers from the University of Georgia have conducted tests on both St. Simons and Jekyll islands, sampling tidal creeks and storm drains to pinpoint possible sources of bacterial contamination.

Peter Hartel, a microbiologist and professor of crop and soil sciences at the university, says that efforts to isolate bacteria and other biological conditions unique to human contamination have been fruitless. Fluorometry tests which have tried to isolate optical brighteners unique to laundry and dish detergents and toilet paper - sure signs that the water tested is being invaded by human-sourced contamination - have also been unsuccessful.

What the university's tests have found, though, is high levels of the enterecoccus fecalis bacterium, which can be traced back to both birds and humans.

In the absence of evidence leading back to humans, the source of the contamination isn't hard to determine, in Hartel's mind.

"The only logical source is birds. Birds are defecating into the marshes," he said.

Hartel says that a likely explanation is that birds are depositing fecal matter high along inland marshes. During storm runoff or spring high tides - both conditions which have yielded higher bacteria counts - the waste is washed away from the marsh and makes its way into beach water.

Human sources still being investigated

The possibility of human-borne contamination may still end up having some hand in the situation.

Darrell Crosby, a regional manager with the state's Environmental Protection Division based in Brunswick, says that human waste is always considered when the organization receives word of elevated bacteria.

"Sewage plants and collection systems are a primary concern when we get reports of high fecal counts," Crosby said.

Sources such as stormwater runoff and on-site sewage disposal systems are also investigated, Crosby said.

Investigations have yet to definitively link any sources of human waste to the polluted beach water, however.

Sea Island Co. funded its own study to investigate the problem, according to company attorney Jim Gilbert. Although the tests seemed to show that Sea Island was not having trouble with human-sourced bacteria, the company has still made improvements to its drainage system.

The company has also taken a more aggressive stance in immediately removing horse droppings from the beach, Gilbert said.

"I'm sure things are better now than they've ever been ... We've really done all we can for Sea Island, what we can control," he said.

Daniel Parshley with the Brunswick-based Glynn Environmental Coalition says that the coalition and partner organizations have done their own testing of beach water, in general. Yet to be ruled out from those tests are problems with sewer systems and failing septic tanks, Parshley said.

"Our beach water contamination is most likely coming from a number of sources, both man-made and natural. There is more work we can do to eliminate the most serious man-made problems as potential sources," Parshley said.

Tourism at risk?

The health of swimmers isn't necessarily the only concern. The health of the area's tourism-based economy could be just as at risk.

People like Stan and Diane Mooney provide a concrete example of longtime visitors still inclined to flock to the area's beaches.

However, Parshley worries that the bacterial advisories could depress the area's tourism, as a whole.

"Tourists and beachgoers are increasingly health conscious," Parshley said. "Many people have been afflicted with ear infections and other ailments that doctors can connect or suspect came from (being) in bacteria-contaminated water.

"The savvy tourists will avoid polluted beaches. ...The economic future of our community demands that we do more to resolve the beach bacteria problem."

So far, that potential fallout hasn't materialized, according to Bill Donohue, executive director of the Jekyll Island Authority.

Donohue commends the beach water advisories as a positive tool for increasing public awareness and education and says they have not hurt the island's tourism.

"We are not aware of any issues with customer complaints or concerns," Donohue said. "People still enjoy going to the beach and being in the ocean and we don't hear... a lot of concern from them about that."