CNN.com - Report: Beach closings down, but health problem persists

August 3, 2000
Web posted at: 12:49 PM EDT (1649 GMT)

WASHINGTON (CNN) -- Fewer beaches closed due to pollution in 1999, but increased monitoring reveals that serious health hazards threaten shore areas in the United States, environmental experts said Thursday.

The findings were released Thursday in the 10th annual review of the nation's beaches by the Natural Resources Defense Council.

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The report, called "Testing the Waters," presents "sort of a gray picture," said Elliott Negin, a spokesman for the council.

Although closings dropped from the previous year, that may have been because 1998 was an unusually active year for beach shutdowns, due to widespread drought and atypical weather conditions caused by El Niño.

Compared to 1997 -- a more typical year -- beach closings in 1999 rose 50 percent, with more than 6,000 reported.

However, the increase in beach closings is also a positive sign that more states are closely monitoring their water quality, Negin said.

"The good news is that we're seeing a more comprehensive picture of beach water quality than ever before. But the bad news is that the growing number of advisories and closings seem to indicate that there's too little being done to prevent closings," he said.

'Gastroenteritis, hepatitis'

The council warned that polluted waters could contain a variety of disease-causing organisms, or pathogens. Viruses are most commonly found in contaminated swimming water and can lead to gastroenteritis, hepatitis, respiratory illness, and ear, nose and throat problems, according to the report.

The report was based on data from the Environmental Protection Agency and the council. It included information from 212 communities in the United States with beaches by oceans, bays, the Great Lakes and some fresh water lakes.

The report also found that water quality in the United States is generally better than it was 25 years ago.

At least 70 percent of the beach closings occurred after elevated levels of bacteria were found in the water. According to the council, the major causes of high bacteria levels are sewage and runoff from polluted rains.

The other closings were precautionary. Some were due to what the council calls "known pollution events," when local beaches decided to close right away after learning of sewage treatment plant accidents or sewage pipe breaks. Other precautionary closings occurred when local beaches anticipated contaminated rainfall.

Beach buddies and beach bums


The beaches on Assateague Island in Maryland scored high enough to earn a "Beach Buddy" commendation from the NRDC

The annual review included the list of the council's "Beach Buddies," beaches the organization commends for adherence to its pollution-monitoring and prevention standards. The Beach Buddies for 1999 include the East Haven Town Beach in East Haven, Connecticut; North Beach and Oceanside at the Assateague Island National Seashore, Maryland; Revere Beach in Revere, Massachusetts; and Short Beach in Winthrop, Maine.

The list of Beach Buddies is shorter than in previous years because the council strengthened its judging criteria in 1999.

On the other side are the "Beach Bums," which either have "inadequate monitoring" by the council's standards or fail to close beaches after pollution exceeds healthy levels. The Beach Bums for 1999 are the states of Louisiana, Oregon, Texas and Washington.

The report also contains what Negin called "some bright spots; some beaches turned around." For example, the state of Mississippi, singled out as a "Beach Bum" in 1998, closed beaches for the first time in 1999 because of sewage contamination.

Among the report's recommendations to improve beach quality:

Tighten controls on sources of pollution such as sewage overflows.

Enact federal legislation to make pollution monitoring and enforcement uniform across the United States.

Require states to adopt the EPA's voluntary action plan for beaches enacted in 1999.

Allocate part of the revenue earned by beach tourism to monitoring programs.