Beach Trip Troubles

Aug. 9, 2007 — -- Inhaling a deep breath at the beach can conjure the memorable smells of summer -- sunscreen, sea salt and … sewage?

The number of U.S. beach closures and no-swim advisories reached a record high last year, according to a new study by the National Resources Defense Council (NRDC). The study revealed that pollution and better monitoring of its effects caused more than 25,000 closures of beaches nationwide.

Pesticides, sewage, trash, pet waste and other filth from developed areas near beaches get washed to the nearest shore after heavy rains that come each year, said NRDC Water Program director Nancy Stoner.

Beach contamination can lead to sickness for beachgoers.

"A day at the beach should not end in the bathroom, or even worse in the emergency room," Stoner said.

Small children, the elderly and pregnant women are most likely to be affected by pollution-caused problems such as skin rashes and serious water-borne diseases like meningitis.

According to Benjamin Grumbles, the Environmental Protection Agency's assistant administrator for water, beachgoers can protect themselves from pollution in a few ways.

They can wait at least 24 hours to swim at the beach after a heavy rainfall -- especially if they have cuts or scratches that dirty run-off might inflame. Beachgoers should also pick a beach that is regularly tested for cleanliness. Many Web sites track beach conditions, including local water authorities and the NRDC.

Swimmers should also never swallow the water no matter how pristine the surf appears.

The New York-New Jersey coastline topped the list with a 96 percent increase in advisories and closures over the previous year, according to the report.

Also, some states haven't improved their standards at all. Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Rhode Island and Minnesota are among the worst offenders, the report stated.

The Jersey shore hosts one of two beaches with the most consistently polluted water. At Beachwood Beach West in Ocean County, N.J., water samples exceed acceptable bacteria levels 60 percent of the time. This title is shared by by Hacks Point in Cecil County, Md., which records identical high levels of contamination.

Even Hawaii, famous for its beautiful beaches, has seen more than 6,000 closings and advisories due to unusually heavy rainfall that caused massive sewage spills.

One California beach town -- Laguna Beach -- is trying to defy this pollution trend. Longtime Laguna Beach resident and beach enthusiast Fred Karger said neighborhood newspapers and authorities function as essential sources on beach conditions, but ultimately people need to use their own eyes to judge whether a beach is clean enough.

"If you're worried, stay on the sand and don't get in the water," Karger said. "I have faith in the local government to help and alert us as they do. I am honestly more concerned about sting rays than bacteria."

In Laguna Beach, alerting people of dangerous beach conditions isn't a major issue because the beach's ocean water samples only exceed normal bacteria levels 9 percent of the time. However, most nationwide information systems operate on 20-year-old standards and can take days to make sample data public, according to the report.

"You could get information on Tuesday or Wednesday about whether the water you swam in on Monday was safe," Stoner said. "That doesn't really do you a lot of good."

The Beach Act of 2000 required the EPA to update these standards, the test methods and the information provided to the public. But the EPA failed to comply with that law and were sued last year by environmental groups to force the update.

"We expect the science to be ready over the next couple of years," Grumbles said. "We will then have a new and improved standards of testing."

Until then, don't necessarily avoid the beach trip. But do use caution when hitting the shore.

"Coastal economies in the United States generate billions of dollars every year," Stoner said. "We really can't afford to lose that revenue because the beaches are polluted."