Ocean Conservation News

As the new home of WashPIRG's environmental work, Environment Washington can be contacted regarding this news release.

SEATTLE—Beach closings due to hazardous bacterial contamination are on the rise at Washington beaches, according to the Natural Resources Defense Council's annual report released today by the Washington Public Interest Research Group (WashPIRG).

The report, "Testing the Waters 2005: A Guide to Water Quality at Vacation Beaches", tallied 72 closing and health advisory days in Washington in 2004, a 700 percent jump from the 9 closings/advisories the previous year. 71 percent of last year's closing days were prompted by unsafe levels of bacteria in the water, indicating the presence of human or animal waste. The primary reason for the significant increase in the number of beach closings in Washington is that the Washington Department of Health was able to monitor water quality at more beaches due to a $273,000 federal BEACH Act grant., which authorizes the EPA to award grants to states for implementing programs to monitor coastal recreational waters adjacent to public beaches.

"Instead of just closing our beaches, let's clean up the water," said WashPIRG Executive Director Robert Pregulman. "Authorities have gotten better at finding problems. Now they need to stop the pollution at its source by repairing and replacing leaky sewage and septic systems, and cleaning up contaminated runoff."

Nationally, the report found nearly 20,000 closing and advisory days at America's beaches in 2004. That's the most since NRDC began tracking the problem 15 years ago. One reason, the group says, is that improved monitoring spurred by previous reports is now uncovering the true extent of the pollution problem.

The report, "Testing the Waters," which covers ocean, coastal bay and Great Lakes beaches, is available on line at www.nrdc.org.

Nationally, the number of beach closings and advisory days jumped 9 percent, from 18,224 days in 2003 to 19,950 days in 2004. States with the biggest jump in closing and advisory days over 2003 were Texas (1,074 percent), Washington (700 percent), Maryland (405 percent), Minnesota (333 percent), Michigan (174 percent), New York (117 percent) and Illinois (102 percent). Hawaii went from no closing or advisory days in 2003 to 1,169 in 2004; Maine went from none in 2003 to 56 in 2004.

"This is a nationwide problem that demands a nationwide solution," said Nancy Stoner, director of NRDC's Clean Water Project. "We need more federal help for local communities to control runoff and update their aging sewage systems, and we need stronger enforcement standards for those who aren't doing their share."

Eighty-five percent of the closing and advisory days nationally were triggered by high bacteria levels. The main culprits are improperly treated sewage and bacteria-contaminated stormwater runoff. The bacteria cause a wide range of diseases, including gastroenteritis; dysentery; hepatitis; ear, nose and throat problems; and respiratory ailments. Consequences are worse for children, the elderly, pregnant women, and anyone with a weakened immune system.

Polluted beachwater not only poses a threat to public health, it can hurt local businesses. Ocean-related economic activity alone contributed more than $200 billion to the U.S. economy in 2000, and coastal tourism and recreation are two of the fastest growing businesses in the country, according to the U.S. Commission on Ocean Policy. For example, one study cited in the report estimated that closing a beach on Lake Michigan could result in economic losses of as much as $37,000 per day.

Reasons for the nationwide jump in closings and advisories last year include:

- the continuing failure of most municipalities to identify and clean up pollution sources;
- more frequent monitoring, prompted at least in part by earlier 'Testing the Waters' reports;
- heavier than average rainfall in some states, which flushed more pollution into local waterways;
- implementation of the federal Beaches Environmental Assessment, Closure and Health (BEACH) Act, which passed in 2000 and went into effect in early 2004.
The law requires all coastal and Great Lakes states and U.S. territories to adopt the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's recommended bacterial standards, provides grants for monitoring and public notification programs, and requires the EPA to make beach water quality data easily accessible.

Beach Buddies and Beach Bums
The report identifies the best and worst performers when it comes to protecting beachgoers from contaminated water. NRDC named its annual Beach Buddies-jurisdictions that monitor beachwater quality regularly, close beaches or notify the public when at least one of EPA's health standards is exceeded, and take significant steps to reduce pollution. This year's Beach Buddies are:

- the City of Los Angeles;
- Scarborough State Beach, Rhode Island (between Narragansett and Point Judith); and
- Door County, Wisconsin (northeast of Green Bay).

The annual list of Beach Bums-communities that do not monitor pollution and warn the public when beachwater is unsafe, or fail to control sources of pollution-include:

- Los Angeles County and 44 cities in the county, including Beverly Hills, Claremont, Pomona and Whittier (see http://www.nrdc.org/media/docs/050728.pdf for the complete list);
- Van Buren County, Michigan (west of Kalamazoo on Lake Michigan); and
- Atlantic Beach, North Carolina (south of Morehead City).

"These two groups represent the best and worst in water quality and health safeguards for beachgoers," said Mark Dorfman, the author of the NRDC report. "They are case studies in what, and what not, to do to protect the 180 million Americans who come out to enjoy the beaches each year."

'Testing the Waters 2005' Recommendations
The report calls on Congress to reauthorize and fully fund the BEACH Act, and urges the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to tighten controls on sewer overflows and stormwater discharges, ensure that states and localities monitor water quality and notify the public when it does not meet bacterial standards, and set standards to protect the public from waterborne pathogens.

At the state and local level, 'Testing the Waters 2005' recommends that governments adopt rigorous monitoring and beach closure programs, identify pollution sources, and get to work cleaning them up. In addition, authorities should issue advisories when heavy rainfall causes bacteria levels to jump, and when sewer overflows or other similar problems jeopardize beachwater safety.

Citizens also can do things to improve beachwater quality, including supporting legislation and funding to keep beachwater clean, fix aging sewer systems, and protect wetlands and coastal vegetation.