Clean Water In the News

COLUMBUS, OHIO – As summer temperatures soar and families flock to America’s coastal beaches, they often find that an unwelcome “intruder” has beaten them to the shore: an official beach advisory, warning people not to enter the water because of dirty water contaminated with dangerous bacteria.

Along Ohio’s Lake Erie coast, beach advisories are an all too frequent fixture. Last year, in fact, Ohio ranked second in the nation for the number of coastal beach advisories, according to an annual beach water quality report released today by the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC), the Ohio Environmental Council, and Environment Ohio.

Using the latest data from the U.S. EPA, the report, “Testing the Waters: A Guide to Water Quality at Vacation Beaches,” tallied 657 health advisory days in 2007 for Ohio beaches, up 4% from 629 days in 2006. The report is available at www.nrdc.org/water/oceans/ttw/titinx.asp

A beach advisory is issued when the level of bacteria in the water is higher than the maximum standard used for evaluating whether or not the water is safe for swimming. Under Ohio Department of Health rules, most beach postings only advise against—but do not actually prohibit—entering the water.

“At the height of summer, nothing is more inviting than a dip in the cool waters of Lake Erie. Yet, soaring advisories are turning families and children away from the beach, all because of outdated and overwhelmed sewage and stormwater treatment systems,” said Kristy Meyer, Agricultural & Clean Water Programs Managing Director for the Ohio Environmental Council.

Tainted beach water can expose beachgoers to a range of waterborne illnesses, including gastroenteritis, dysentery, hepatitis, respiratory ailments and other serious health problems. For senior citizens, small children, and people with weak immune systems, the results can be fatal.

Nationwide, sewage spills and overflows caused more than 22,000 beach closing and advisory days in 2007. In the Great Lakes, 15% of beach water samples violated public health standards, more than twice the national average, and the highest level of contamination of any coastal region in the continental U.S. Four out of the five top-risk beaches are located within the Great Lakes region: Illinois, Ohio, Wisconsin, and Indiana.

The 22,000 figure is the most since the NRDC began tracking the problem 18 years ago, confirming that our nation’s beaches continue to suffer from serious water pollution. EPA beachgoer surveys in the Great Lakes confirm that waterborne illness is commonplace among swimmers. An average of 11% of swimmers surveyed at two beaches (Huntington Beach on Lake Erie, near Cleveland and Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore on Lake Michigan, near Gary, Ind.) reported contracting gastroenteritis.

Beach advisories represent not only a health hazard, but also a loss in economic revenue. Studies in Michigan have indicated economic losses ranging from $7,935 to $37,030 per day, due to recreational activity lost because of beach advisories.

Aging and poorly-designed sewage and stormwater systems hold much of the blame for beach water pollution. Last year, that problem was compounded by record rainfall, which added to the strain on already overloaded infrastructure. Report authors also found that poor suburban developments in coastal areas are devouring wetlands and other natural buffers such as dunes and beach grass that would otherwise help filter out dangerous pollution.

So far in 2008, beach advisory warning signs have interrupted 202 days of the summer swimming season at the 23 public Lake Erie beaches monitored by the Ohio Department of Health.