The state Environmental Protection Commission will hear plans to modify the way state beaches are tested for bacteria at their meeting today (Monday). Janice Boekhoff oversees the program for the Iowa Department of Natural Resources. She says the beaches they haven’t head many problems with, they’re going to decrease the amount of time they do tests on the water. She says they’ll still take weekly tests, just shift the time frame for when they test. Boekhoff says shifting the testing schedule at state beaches will allow them to actually increase the overall testing in the state. She says they will take some of the money they save and put it toward monitoring county beaches. Boekhoff says there are some 57 county beaches that could be tested. She says so far they have 32 that’ll be involved, and others that’re interested, but they still have to set up a time for training the testers. Boekhoff says the testing would begin in just over one month.She says monitoring will start on Memorial Day, May 31st this year.Boekhoff says the state beach testing program is entering its fifth year.
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