This year marks the 21st season of Save The River’s Beach Watch program. With the help of volunteers, seven swimming locations are tested every Monday for nine weeks from July 6 through August 24. The seven testing sites are Frink Park in downtown Clayton, Scenic View Park in Alexandria Bay, Thousand Islands Park Cove, Lake of the Isles on Wellesley Island, Wilson’s Beach in Cape Vincent, Round Island in Clayton, and Potters Beach on Grindstone Island. Weekly monitoring results are posted on Save The River’s website and social media, at their 409 Riverside Drive, Clayton storefront, and on the Swim Guide mobile app and website.
The Week 1 Beach Watch results from July 6, 2020 showed that the four locations that submitted samples all passed: Frink Park, Potter’s Beach and Lake of the Isles both had levels of only less than 1 per 100 ml and TI Park Cove had levels of 13.2 per 100 ml, all of which are well below the 235 per 100 ml maximum.
If a New York State swimming beach fails a water quality sample, the beach will close until it passes a resample test. However, Save The River monitors the Beach Watch program on a volunteer basis and has no authority to close the swimming areas we sample. The results are used to highlight areas of concern and inform landowners and stakeholders of potential health risks. When there is a situation of high bacteria, Save The River submits those results to local and state authorities for their use and action.
Volunteers collect samples Monday mornings and bring the sample to Save The River by 9:15 am.
If you would like to learn more about this volunteer opportunity, contact Bridget Wright at bridget@savetheriver.org.