With unprecedented and persistent regional heat waves oppressing areas of the U.S. from coast to coast, not to mention the record-high temperatures being reached in other countries, a refreshing dip in the ocean sounds like an ideal way to relax and cool off this summer.
But, as it turns out, spending time in America’s coastal sand and surf may not actually be the wholesome summertime activity we’d all like to believe it is. Instead, it may actually prove hazardous to your health, due to widespread and potentially unsafe levels of human and animal excrement in the water.
Thanks to factors like increasing overdevelopment to ever-worsening levels of water pollution coming from sources like urban runoff, sewage overflows and factory farm waste, the reputation of our U.S. beaches has been sullied.
A July report from Environment America revealed just how bad the situation has become. Of the 3,192 nationwide beaches tested in the U.S. last year, more than half (55 percent) experienced at least one day on which potentially unsafe fecal contamination levels were recorded.
An “unsafe” fecal contamination quotient doesn’t mean that there was no poop present in the water, it only indicates that the sewage concentration exceeded the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) threshold that’s considered acceptable.
The EPA’s most protective “Beach Action Value” score provides a benchmark by which to judge water’s relative filthiness, serving as a tool for decision-makers when they need to determine whether or not beaches should be closed on account of public health concerns.
Additionally, approximately one out of every nine beaches included in this study tested potentially unsafe fecal levels on at least 25 percent of the days when testing was conducted. Of course, they could also have experienced dangerous contamination levels on the days that testing was not performed, which is plenty. States vary vastly in terms of how widely and how often they test their beaches.
In other words, we recommend you don’t swallow the water during your next saltwater swim because, chances are, you’re wading in the poopy sort.
Countless kinds of diseases can be transmitted via feces-contaminated waters, but the most common are gastrointestinal and respiratory illnesses, eye and ear infections, and skin rash. While the majority of cases of these afflictions go unreported, the U.S. sees an estimated 57 million cases of illness as a result of people swimming in tainted oceans, lakes, rivers and ponds.
Highly contaminated water can also trigger public health warnings or area closures that inhibit Americans’ ability to actually go out and enjoy the nation’s natural bodies of water. In fact, more than 8,700 such closures or health advisories at the U.S.’ coastal and Great Lakes beaches were issued in 2022, affecting one in every dozen swimming days.
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