Petroglyph Beach in Wrangell. (Katarina Sostaric/KSTK)
City Park and Petroglyph Beach are undergoing weekly water quality testing this summer.
“It’s been good so far. Everything has come back safe, as far as bacterial levels,” said Angie Eldred, communications coordinator for the Southeast Alaska Watershed Coalition (SAWC).
SAWC got a grant from the state to test popular Wrangell beaches during the summer to make sure the water is safe for people and pets.
Eldred said she will notify the community if bacteria levels become unsafe.
”What we’re sampling for now is bacteria that would affect recreational beach users, like fecal coliform, that type of thing,” Eldred said. “That could be from human waste, from runoff from nearby streets, it could be from wildlife, anything like that. But it would impact people swimming in the water, dogs swimming in the water.”
The samples go to a lab in Juneau, and results come back each week.
The testing will continue through September, and those beaches will be tested again next summer.
