Moving to the beach has become a lot like searching for hotel accommodations: If it’s a one-star ranking, you acknowledge you are in for nothing but problem. A fresh report released today by the Natural Resources Defense Council graded the water quality of 200 U.S. coastal beaches using a five-star guide, and the final results are far from a day at the beach.
“Nationwide, 7 percent of beach water samples are so contaminated with human or animal waste that they’re not conducive for swimming,” said Nancy Stoner, co-director of the NRDC’s water program and lead author for the report. “For the fourth year in a row, NRDC found that there were more than 20,000 beach closings last year because of human or animal waste in the water.”

Pollutants noticed in beach water are oftentimes the result of storm water or sewage overflow, and it is not something to take lightly, specially if small babies, pregnant women or the elderly are spending time in the surf. Swimming in polluted water could lead to ear infections and stomach viruses, likewise as more serious diseases like meningitis and hepatitis, Stoner said.

The Environmental Protection Agency puts a standard for beach water quality, and when water quality tests reveal that pollution has exceeded that standard, the beach is closed.

“The problem,” Stoner said, “is that it does take 24 hours or longer to produce test results,” meaning if the beach was contaminated on Thursday, you won’t know about it until Friday. And once those results are produced, there’s no guarantee that the cause is identifiable. While storm water and sewage are often the culprit for closures, for 62 percent of the 20,000 beach closures that occurred last year, the cause of the pollution was unknown.

Merely with precious some weeks of beach season left, now isn’t the time to avoid sand and surf like the plague. Thankfully, not all beaches are polluted equally — the NRDC hands out five stars to beaches that meet health standards more than 95 pct of the time and quickly give notice beach goers with signs and Internet alarms when there is a potential trouble.
Standout states include Delaware, New Hampshire and Virginia, which boast having pristine, nearly pollution-free shorings. Virginians still should take note: Fairview Beach in King George County is for sure not one of those. Agreeing to Stoner, this beach is considered to be one of the worst offenders, especially because it consistently fails more than 25 pct of its water quality tests.
Handily, one of the best beaches is Ocean City, Maryland, which hads best year after year because of its clean water and strict water quality monitoring, 2 factors that earned the popular East Coast beach five stars. In nearby Delaware, Dewey and Bethany beaches also earned a stamp of approval from the NRDC.

Newport Beach and Laguna Beach are two of California’s five-star beaches, but stay away from Doheny Beach and Avalon Beach, which both failed to a higher degree than 25 pct of their water quality tests in 2008.

If you are in the Great Lakes area and seeking for quality beach time, powerfully consider booking a trip to one of the coasts. “From 2005 to 2008, the Great Lakes consistently tested the dirtiest. In 2008, 13 percent of beach water samples violated public health standards,” Stoner said.

But never mind which beach you frequent, five-star or not, you had better always take cares by avoiding beaches with obvious sources of pollution, like nearby open pipes and trash. Wait leastwise 24 hrs after a heavy rain before hitting the waves once again, admitting potential pollutants to dissipate.