About twelve days straight now with the DES posted beach signs for bacteria down at the beach at Weirs Beach! Was back over there today to do some more kayaking, and lo & behold, the ten dollar collection fee was being collected by the city. Apparently, people want to go to the beach and enjoy the water, bacteria or no bacteria, because there was plenty of people, like maybe 40 or so, in the water.
One of the employees collecting the ten bucks was saying how they should get the latest DES test results back on Monday, and they are sure hoping that the bacteria test levels have fallen enough so they can lose the yellow DES signs. The state does the testing and posting of signs, and it is up to the individual town as to how it wants to run their local beach. Nobody really seems to care too much; bacteria or no bacteria, high bacteria or low bacteria; it's August, they are at the beach and they want to go get in that Winnipesaukee water, and that's what everyone is going to do, so the bacteria will just be ignored.....like, so what, big deal....bacteria....too bad! Who knows, maybe there is good bacteria, and bad bacteria, and some bacteria which is just so-so bacteria. Could be the Weirs bacteria is probably the good bacteria, or at least the so-so bacteria?
Someone was saying that it has to do with the beach at Weirs Beach being located in a shallow water area without too much circulation, and how hopefully the big winds of Friday and Saturday, plus the cooler weather would be enough to churn & burn all the bacteria down to DES acceptable levels. And, maybe it has to do with people feeding the ducks, too!
For ten dollars to park in their parking lot that's real close to the Channel, I took a pass on Weirs Beach, and headed up to the Winnipesaukee River kayak launch that's close to the Laconia City Hall. That is a no-charge, freebie, and can be used in tandem with the Winnisquam state boat launch which is further down the Winnipesaukee River, and very close to Lake Winnisquam.