Ohio beaches' bacteria level worst in nation [View All]

[OhioChick]

Source: The Plain Dealer

Saturday, August 11, 2007

Even after three decades of clean-water efforts, they remain Northeast Ohio's unwholesome trinity - summer storms, sewage overflows and swimming in Lake Erie.

And this week - on the day our beaches were named worst in the nation for dangerous bacteria - an overflow pipe at Edgewater Park blasted millions of gallons of a mixture of untreated sewage and storm water directly into the lake.

Edgewater was closed to swimming for two days, and other local beaches shut down or posted warnings - a putrid punctuation mark to a summer that has gone from drought to drenching rains.

Tuesday's report released by the Natural Resources Defense Council said 22 percent of Ohio's beach water samples last year exceeded state bacterial standards - more than any other state.



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