If you frequently visit any beach in the United States, you might be unawaringly taking a dip in poop contaminated sea water. According to a report by environmentamerica.org, it tested 3100 beaches in the nation in 2022 and 55% of them had at least one day where "fecal contamination" reached potentially unsafe levels, beyond the Environmental Protection Agency’s benchmark for beach advisories and closures.
The report highlights that the beaches are also polluted with human and animal excreta which get dumped into the ocean from sewage overflows, factory farms and industrial livestock operations.
As per the report, Gulf Coast has the highest percentage of beaches unsafe at least one day in 2022, at 84%. 70% of West Coast beaches are unsafe, 63% in Great Lakes, 48% in East Coast and 24% in Alaska/Hawaii. Thus making, 55% of beaches unsafe across America.
State-wise, 90% of the 61 beaches tested in Texas were found to be unsanitary. The beaches in Louisiana and Pennsylvania( Lake Erie) were found to have alarmingly high contamination.
“Unfortunately, sewage infrastructure around the country is inadequate or in poor repair, enabling raw sewage to find its way into our waterways,” reads the report.
{{/usCountry}}“Unfortunately, sewage infrastructure around the country is inadequate or in poor repair, enabling raw sewage to find its way into our waterways,” reads the report.
{{/usCountry}}“Sanitary sewers overflow as many as 75,000 times each year in the US. Paving over wetlands or forests that had once absorbed rainfall and filtered pollution makes this problem worse.”
Notably, swimming in water contaminated with poop and sewage can cause “respiratory disease, ear and eye infection, and skin rash".
Meanwhile, the report also advices beach-goers to check beach advisories and avoid going in the water if they have open sores.