July 7, 2023 -- A report from an environmental group says about half the beaches in the United States had at least one day when water contamination levels hit potentially unsafe levels in 2022.
In its annual “Safe for Swimming” report, the Environment America Research and Policy Center said 1,761 of 3,192 beaches tested for water contamination in 2022 had at least one day in which fecal contamination levels exceeded the EPA’s Beach Action Value, or BAV, a tool used to determine bacteria levels and whether a beach should be closed.
The report also said 363 beaches had potentially unsafe levels of fecal contamination on at least 25% of the days when testing occurred.
Contamination levels varied by region. Exceeding the EPA’s BAV on at least one day in 2022 were 48% of East Coast beaches, 63% of Great Lakes beaches, 84% of Gulf Coast beaches, and 70% of West Coast beaches.
The Environment America Research and Policy Center is part of the Public Interest Network.
The contamination levels were gleaned on May 31 from the National Water Quality Monitoring Council’s Water Quality Portal, the group said.
The report said fecal contamination in ocean and lake waters where people swim can come from urban runoff, sprawling development, sewage overflows, and factory farms.
“Even as Americans are back to enjoying the fresh sea breeze and splash of waves at the beach, pollution still plagues too many of the places where we swim,” John Rumpler, Clean Water Program director for Environment America Research & Policy Center, said in a news release. “Now is the time to fix our water infrastructure and stop the flow of pathogens to our beaches.”