Beach Water Quality Report Released

The Natural Resources Defense Council has released their annual report on beach water quality and public notification, July 29, 2008. The report revealed that 2007 has the second-highest level of beach closings and advisories in 18 years. It showed that the nation’s beaches are suffering from serious water pollution and swimmers may be at risk.

The number of closing and advisory days at ocean, bay, and Great Lakes beaches reached 20,000 for three consecutive years. The culprits responsible for beach water pollution are aging and poorly designed sewage and stormwater systems. The number of closing and advisory days due to sewage spills and overflows more than tripled to 4,097 from 2006 to 2007. The largest source of pollution is from stormwater, which caused more than 10,000 closing and advisory days in 2007. Stormwater, an abnormal amount of surface water due to a heavy rainstorm, can carry pollution from the streets to the beach without treatment any time it rains.

“Some families can’t enjoy their local beaches because they are polluted and kids are getting sick — largely because of human and animal waste in the water,” said Nancy Stoner, director of NRDC’s clean water project. “What this report means for families heading to the beach is they need to be careful and do a little homework.”

State and local health and environmental officials are responsible for monitoring beach water quality. When they find contaminated water, they may post warnings or close the beach. The report showed 79% of beaches that provided data to the EPA and NRDC were monitored at least once a week in 2007.