By Jan TenBruggencate
Advertiser Columnist

The state Health Department and other agencies take water quality measurements at beaches statewide. But unless the agencies post warning signs, most folks have no easy way to know what those tests find out — and whether the water they and their kids swim in is potentially hazardous.

For folks in the Kailua and Kane'ohe area, a new Web site helps fix that.

The Kailua Bay Advisory Council has gathered all the coastal water quality data it has been able to find, and has posted them on an easy-to-understand Web site: www.kbac-hi.org/kwqid.

There is no statewide version, but Mike McMahon, advisory council community coordinator, said the state Department of Health has been discussing having the council expand its Web site to include the whole state.

McMahon, who worked on the Web site with intern Kia Weaver, said the idea is just to make known information publicly accessible.

"I think it's just an informational purpose. You can see whether (water quality) is better or worse than it's supposed to be," he said.

When you call up the site, there's a map of the southern Windward coast of O'ahu in the upper left corner. You can click on specific regions and see whether data are available for that location.

If you click He'eia, for example, you are given the choice of the He'eia Small Boat Harbor or Pyramid Beach. Next, you get a list of the things that might be tested: salinity, dissolved oxygen, turbidity, nitrogen, chlorophyll and more. If you have questions about what these are, just click on them and you get a definition.

Another column tells you how the category compares to the state's standard for that item. If it's good, the Kailua Bay Advisory Council site has a happy face with a thumbs-up sign. If it's below standards, there's a frowning face. If the information isn't available or can't be produced, there's a question mark.

Sometimes the conditions are different by season. At He'eia, you'd find that in the wet season, there were excessive nutrients such as ammonia in the waters, although bacteria counts remained at acceptable levels.

A review of the data also shows that a lot of sites are not regularly tested. Many of the most recent He'eia tests date five or 10 years, and McMahon said he hopes publicity will generate more regular testing.

If you have an issue, question or concern about the Hawaiian environment, contact Jan TenBruggencate, The Advertiser's Kaua'i Bureau chief and its science and environment writer. Reach him at jant@honoluluadvertiser.com, (808) 245-3074, or P.O. Box 524, Lihu'e, HI 96766.