YES! Claims the local goverment and the AyA, wich is the abbreviation for the Costa Rica water and sewer ministry. After the latest round of water tests in and around the river mouths and various locations up and down the beach, the AyA determined that the beach in Jaco is safe. Was that a long sentence or what? 

As many of us know who live here in Jaco that the rivers that spill into the ocean are heavily polluted with septic wastes that are untreated. Just walking by over a river here in town, you can smell the terrible odors that are associated with untreated sewage. Luckily for Jaco and all of the surfers, the government realized they needed to get firm with violators who are polluting the rivers. Last year, Jaco was in the news because of very high levels of bacteria coliforms in the water tested at the beach. The result was a media frenzy here in Costa Rica and an embarressment for many in the tourist trade. After all, Costa Rica stands for ecological protection and sustainability. What one preaches they better practice when they invite the media to the dance. 

The tourisim minister, the tourism council, and even local leaders were humbled in light of the dangerous bacteria levels becoming public knowledge. There is nothing like potential loss of face here in Costa Rica to motivate a public official or council. Many people questioned AyA’s motivations for releasing the test results to the media without consulting the local government first. Some say it was the word war between the Garabito municipality and the AyA on who was going to take care of the drinking water for the community that led to the public disclosure of the test results.

In any event, the news this week was good, the levels of coliforms in under 50 coliforms per 100 mililiters of water. Unlike, last years results which were 150 to 200 times higher around 1100 to 2400 per 100 mililiters of water.   But lets take a closer look at the article and interpret the results. According the US EPA, which many people would like to use as the guide for safe bathing levels of coliforms is under 200 per 100 mililiters but the key factor here is that that number 200 coliforms per 100mL is expressed as a geometric mean over the most recent 30 days. Meaning that in order to get a sample it must be taken over a period of 30 days to get the mean which would then determine if that number is within safe limits. The Costa Rican AyA says international standards is 500 coliforms per 100mL of water but I have not found that anywhere in beach front standards. In rivers where bathing takes place, this would be considered a safe level.

In any event, we are talking about Jaco beach front but not about the river mouths. Did we forget to mention that? Sorry, according to the same authority AyA the Jaco river mouths are still highly contaminated and filled with high levels of fecal coliforms. Now there are four rivers that feed into Jaco’s ocean front, of the four the Copey river has the highest levels. NOTICE: This is not a typo! The Copey river mouth has levels 46,000 coliforms per 100 mL of water and the other 3 range from 2,400 to 15,000 coliforms per 100mL of water. Well it did not take reading this report to understand that bathing near the rivers mouths was a bad idea but that is where some of the best waves for surfing are in Jaco.  

So on one hand, the water is clean and safe for bathing but on the other hand thanks to the currents in Jaco where the river mouth contamination gets diluted quickly according to Dan Mora, director of the Laboratory of Water AyA. In the United States and Canada they post warning at beaches when levels reach 199 coliforms per 100mL of water and it is up to the swimmer to decide to take the risk. These mesurements are based on a 30 day mean not two sampling over a month. If you should decide to take Dan Mora’s opinion that he thinks it is safe for bathers during this weeks beginning of Semana Santa you should be aware of the symptoms of water borne illnesses. The most common problem associated with swimming in contaminated water is gastrointestinal illness, characterized by stomach cramps, diarrhea, and vomiting. This occurred to a fellow surfer who spent the morning getting tossed in the “rinse cycle” of some fast closing waves and ended up in the clinic in the evening with excruciating stomach cramps. I avoid the problem by bathing and surfing away of the river mouths and by making sure that I do not swallow any water and shower afterwards

Here is the Costa Rican newpaper Nacion article about the new test results. The photos used in the article are taken from locations outside of Costa Rica. Perhaps we should suggest the local government let bather decide if they want to take the risk by posting such examples