Beaches across America showed unsafe levels of pollution last year, a study finds

[sandensea]

Before you head to the beach this summer, you might want to double-check the water conditions.

Last year, nearly 60% of 4,523 beaches tested across the United States demonstrated unsafe water pollution levels on at least one day, according to a report released Tuesday by the nonprofits Environment America Research & Policy Center and Frontier Group.

These 2,627 beaches had bacteria levels that exceeded the US Environmental Protection Agency's "Beach Action Value" threshold, which it recommends states use to provide an early alert to beachgoers who may be particularly sensitive to contaminants.

On the higher end of the scale in the new report, Inner Cabrillo Beach in Los Angeles County had 85 potentially unsafe days out of 175 days sampled. By contrast, Bethany Beach in Delaware's Sussex County tested potentially unsafe on one of 33 sampled days.

At: https://www.cnn.com/2019/07/23/health/us-beaches-pollution-study-trnd/index.html

Crowds enjoy the Laguna Beach boardwalk and main beach, where post-rainfall beach closures have become increasingly common due to polluted runoff.

[mopinko]

1. lake michigan, too. beaches have been closed here in chi

most of last week.
it's been a bigger and bigger issue each year, esp at some beaches. but right now they are closed all up and down the lake.

[sandensea]

2. Sorry to hear that, Mopinko.

Part of the problem, I suspect, is that most voters think polluted lakes and waterways are a thing from the past - ugly postcards of the 1950s and '60s we'd just as soon forget.

This, of course, plays right into corporate polluters' hands - and of course Cheeto's.

[mopinko]

3. our lake has been well protected for a long time, but

yeah, nobody is very complacent about that these days.