Beaches Test Fine for Bacteria, Health Department Says
Posted
Jordan Fouts-
A decade of beach testing data shows no clear trend in bacteria levels, the Kosciusko County Health Board heard Wednesday. Health Department Administrator Bob Weaver said during the quarterly meeting that weekly testing of seven beaches in the county has started for the season. All have tested fine, he said, noting that they have also begun recording factors such as rainfall and wind speed and direction to see if there’s any correlation between weather and bacteria levels. He also said he graphed 10 previous years of beach tests and will provide board members with more details at a later meeting, but at first glance sees no obvious trend. “So far, as I interpret the numbers, there’s not much change. It seems pretty stable, the bacteria isn’t increasing or decreasing,” Weaver told the board. He also reported during the meeting that the department has again received a $24,000 grant from United Way of Kosciusko County to operate the Well Child Clinic, which sees about 300 kids a year; and that the department has applied for a $35,000 grant from the Indiana Local Health Department Trust to help run prenatal care programs. And the board adopted a policy for septic system inspections that repeats state code saying that the department may use its “best judgment” in looking at repairs to existing systems. State rules for new system installation are more formal and inspections are conducted “by the book,” according to Weaver, who proposed the policy. “The board needs to say how we do inspections. It goes a long way with the state,” he remarked. “It’s good to have a policy, and it doesn’t have to be five pages.”
