Report: Bacteria Closing More Beaches
By DARA AKIKO WILLIAMS
05:37 PM ET 08/03/00
Associated Press Writer
SAN DIEGO (AP) - Beach closings and advisories because of high
bacteria levels are on the rise nationwide, according to a new
report that awards high praise for pollution control to only five
beach areas, all on the East Coast. The nationwide survey released Thursday by the Natural Resources
Defense Council also singles out four states as ``beach bums'' for
failing to regularly monitor their coastlines.
There were 6,160 beach closings and advisories nationwide in
1999, with 70 percent due to bacteria associated with sewage or
polluted runoff _ even with drought conditions limiting runoff,
according to the council's 10th annual report, ``Testing the
Waters: A Guide to Water Quality at Vacation Beaches.''
The report presents a mixed picture of the beaches along the
coasts and Great Lakes, noting that better monitoring may account
for part of the increase. Even so, many states still don't follow
federal guidelines or don't monitor at all.
``The good news is that America's waters are generally cleaner
than they were 25 years ago, when rivers were burning and lakes
were dying,'' the authors wrote.
``The bad news is that, at the dawn of the 21st century, about
40 percent of U.S. waters are still too polluted for uses such as
swimming and fishing and for supporting aquatic life.''
Louisiana, Oregon, Texas and Washington state were deemed
``beach bums'' for lacking both regular beach monitoring and a
public notification system when the water is polluted.
Five ``beach buddies'' were found to have regular monitoring
that based pollution levels on federal guidelines, always closed
beaches when appropriate and had few closings or advisories. The
``beach buddies'' were East Haven Town Beach in Connecticut; North
Beach and Oceanside at the Assateague Island National Seashore in
Maryland; and Revere Beach and Short Beach in Massachusetts.
``The surprising thing was how few beaches met (beach buddy)
criteria,'' said Mark Dorfman, a principal author of the study.
``It really speaks to the need for more of a focus on really being
stewards of our public beaches.''
While last year's 6,160 advisories and closings is down from
1998, the report notes that 1998 was an El Nino year with heavy
rains that caused a spike in beach closings and advisories in
California. A better comparison to 1999 would be 1997, when there
were 4,153 beach closings and advisories nationwide.
And the 10-year trend shows an overall increase in beach
advisories and closings across the country, the NRDC said.
The report's findings were no surprise to environmentalists in
beach communities like San Diego, where there have been 343 sewage
spills this year. Contamination warning signs have become a common,
said Donna Frye, a spokeswoman for the Center for Marine
Conservation.
``It's wrong to see signs posted on our beautiful bay,'' Frye
said. ``It's wrong to think that everything is OK because it's
not.''
Besides high bacteria levels, 14 percent of beach closings and
advisories nationwide were due to known pipeline breaks or sewage
treatment plant failures; 10 percent came after heavy storms; and 6
percent were due to algae, chemicals or unknown causes.
A direct comparison among states is impossible because most use
different monitoring standards and check beaches with varying
frequency.
California, which has comprehensive monitoring, had the highest
number of advisories or closings in 1999, with at least 3,547.
Florida, with limited monitoring, was next with 671, followed by
the Virgin Islands (limited) with 307, Indiana (comprehensive) with
at least 269, and Ohio (comprehensive) with 257.
Georgia, Alabama and Mississippi, listed as ``beach bums'' in
1998, were singled out this year out for improvements in monitoring
and public notification.
Related Links:
Natural Resources Defense Council:
http://www.nrdc.org
Environmental Protection Agency:
http://www.epa.gov
TOP
