Clallam County annual BEACH report

Keeping beaches safe

The Beach Environmental Assessment, Communication & Health (BEACH) Program ensures that marine water is safe to swim and play in and informs the public if water doesn't meet swimming standards.

From Memorial Day through Labor Day in 2018, we sampled 62 public high-use beaches statewide, either weekly or biweekly, for enterococcus, a type of fecal bacteria. High enterococcus levels are linked to swimmer illness.

Clallam County saltwater swimming beaches

Eight beaches in Clallam County were sampled in 2018. The Makah Tribe sampled five of these beaches year-round for their BEACH Program.

Makah Tribe BEACH program

During 2018, the Makah Tribe sampled five beaches year-round:

• Dakwas Park Beach, Neah Bay
• Front Street Beach, East
• Hobuck Beach
• Sooes Beach
• Third Beach, Neah Bay

You can view monitoring results for the Makah Tribe beaches through the Coastal Atlas BEACH data portal. In the dropdown menu, under Select a Location - County, choose "Clallam."

Washington state BEACH program

As part of the Washington state BEACH program, Clallam County sampled three beaches weekly from May 21 – Aug. 31, 2018. 

Find details about each of the Clallam County beaches below:

Data summary: Bacteria results compared to standards

The chart below summarizes the bacteria levels in Clallam County beaches in relation to the EPA swimming standard or saltwater swimming criteria. Beaches are considered unsafe for swimming when the geometric mean of enterococcus/100 mL of water is greater than or equal to 35 and the statistical threshold value of enterococcus/100 mL is greater than or equal to 276. We issue a public swimming advisory when enterococcus levels reach 104 per 100 mL of water.

Table: Calculated geometric mean and statistical threshold value at Clallam County beaches
(in enterococcus per 100 mL) for 2018

Beach	Geometric Mean	Statistical Threshold Value
Cline Spit County Park Beach	20	94
Hollywood Beach	18	65
Salt Creek Recreation Area Beach	11	21