App helps beachgoers and recreationists find closest, cleanest Bay Area beaches
Deb Self: 415-856-0444 x102, or cel 510-882-1882; deb@baykeeper.org
San Francisco—Finding a Bay Area beach where the water is clean enough for swimming, surfing and other in-the-water recreation is going to be easier with San Francisco Baykeeper’s launch of the Swim Guide app. This new, free smart phone app provides up-to-date water quality information from government authorities on more than a dozen Bay and ocean beaches in the Bay Area. The app is available from the Apple App Store, for Android from Google Play or online at www.theswimguide.org.
“The Swim Guide will be useful in summer months, when lots of us like to get in and on the water,” says Deb Self, Baykeeper Executive Director. “And it will be even more useful during the rainy season. That’s when our local beaches are most likely to be unhealthy, because rain washes bacteria and other pathogens from sewer systems into the water.”
“Baykeeper is excited to provide an easy way for Bay recreationists to access information about where the water is clean and safe.”
Recreationists can also use the Swim Guide to immediately report pollution to Baykeeper. Baykeeper will investigate, notify the proper agencies and make sure authorities respond to address the problem.
Other Swim Guide features allow users to get directions to beaches, view photos, learn which beaches are good for children and recreation, as well as share the information on social networks.
Baykeeper is launching the Swim Guide in partnership with the Waterkeeper Alliance, our international network of 200 clean water protection groups worldwide. The free app is provided and managed by Waterkeeper member groups, utilizing water quality monitoring data from government authorities.
Baykeeper has worked for many years to reduce sewage spills into the Bay and local creeks, sloughs, beaches and recreation areas, which are a major threat to the health of the Bay, wildlife and recreational users. Baykeeper has reached legally-binding agreements with twenty cities across the Bay Area requiring them to invest in infrastructure upgrades, repair leaky sewer pipes and improve maintenance practices in order to reduce sewage spills in the watershed.
Swim Guide includes descriptions and photos of nearly 1,300 US and Canadian beaches, including nearly 300 in California, and will eventually cover every major beach community in the US and Canada. More information about the app is available online at www.theswimguide.org.