Double Bluff added to county’s beach monitoring list

Island County Public Health issued a swimming advisory for the beach at Double Bluff County Park.

By Kira Erickson • September 2, 2022 1:30 am
File photo by Kira Erickson/South Whidbey Record The beach at Double Bluff County Park has been added to the list of sites monitored seasonally by the county’s public health department.
File photo by Kira Erickson/South Whidbey Record The beach at Double Bluff County Park has been added to the list of sites monitored seasonally by the county’s public health department.

Last month, Island County Public Health issued a swimming advisory for the beach at Double Bluff County Park for the first time.

The Aug. 18 advisory, which has since been lifted, was indicative of the county’s efforts to test water quality in the area. Starting this year, the county added Double Bluff County Park to its list of seasonable beach monitoring sites. Windjammer Park in Oak Harbor and Freeland County Park also make up that list.

County Health Services Director Keith Higman said two separate locations at Double Bluff beach were tested for water quality – one in open water and the other a backwater pool that collects just below the park’s entrance. The latter location tested positive for an excess of fecal-related bacteria.

As the swimming advisory pointed out, contact with fecal-contaminated waters can result in gastroenteritis, skin rashes, upper respiratory infections and other illnesses.

“We are discussing internally if we will be sampling this pool in the future because it represents a stagnant pool of water with no natural inlet or outlet, is used by seabirds and will likely always test positive for bacteria,” Higman said in an email.