TESTING THE EFFECTIVENESS OF A FABRIC BOOM IN IMPROVING WATER-QUALITY AT A BATHING BEACH

In the spring and summer of 1992, the Village of Mamaroneck (located in Westchester County, New York), seeking to determine if it might improve the bacteriologic quality of its bathing beach water, installed a fabric boom in its Mamaroneck Harbor beach in Long Island Sound. This article presents analyses conducted by the Westchester County Department of Health (WCDH) to study the boom's effectiveness in decreasing the number of enteric microorganisms entering the enclosed beach waters. The WCDH sought to examine the boom's effectiveness as measured by total and fecal coliform bacteria inside and outside the boom. Chlorides were also measured to determine the level of salinity within and without the boom, and thereby to evaluate the flow of water through the boom. The results of this study suggest that the boom was a factor in reducing total and fecal coliform bacteria during the 1992 bathing season. The logarithmic mean for total coliform for all of the samples from within the boom was 62% less for the water samples inside the boom versus the outside waters.