Report: Over half of US beaches had unsafe fecal contamination levels last year

Report: Over half of US beaches had unsafe fecal contamination levels last year

More than half of U.S. beaches tested last year had unsafe fecal bacteria levels for at least one day, a new report found. Swimming in fecal-contaminated water can cause health problems such as nausea, diarrhea, skin rashes or sometimes even more severe illness, experts said. Pathogens can contaminate beaches via stormwater, sewage runoff and other sources, and experts say climate change and aging infrastructure could make these contamination events more common.

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More than half of the country's beaches had potentially dangerous fecal contamination for at least one day last year, according to a new report.

The report, released July 5 by the Environment America Research and Policy Center, an environmental nonprofit, included data from coastal beaches and the Great Lakes region.

The results varied by region — 84% of Gulf Coast beaches were potentially unsafe for at least one day last year, and the same was true for 70% of West Coast beaches. Beach pollution was closer to the national average of 55% on Great Lakes and East Coast beaches and was much less prevalent in Alaska and Hawaii.

There were also 363 beaches that were unsafe on at least a quarter of the testing days, meaning contamination was more common.

It is possible that beaches were contaminated even on days when water testing was not conducted.

“We have decided as a nation that all of our waterways are safe for swimming,” said John Rumpler, JD, co-author of the report and director of clean water at the Environment America Research and Policy CenterHealth.“Unfortunately, 50 years later, we realize that all too often there are pathogens [in] the places where we like to go swimming, surfing, sailing or rowing.”

Here's what experts say about beach pollution in the U.S., why it may be increasing, and what people can do to make their summer beach trips as safe as possible.

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How was contamination tracked in the report?

Rumpler and his co-author compiled data from water safety tests at 3,192 beaches across the country last year. They found that 1,761 - just over half - had potentially unsafe levels of fecal contamination for at least one day in 2022.

The Environment America Research and Policy Center found that the frequency of beach pollution was similar in 2021, 2020 and 2019.

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) recently released its own 2022 Beach Report, which included data from 5,092 beaches that “[have] at least a program to inform the public when swimming in coastal waters is unsafe due to bacterial contamination,” an EPA spokesperson saidHealth.

According to the EPA report, 70% of these beaches were monitored for bacteria and only 29% of them had a safety warning or closure. Most of these warnings lasted between three and seven days.

Generally, water tests are performed by measuring levels of certain bacteria that could be an indication of fecal contamination. But actually determining whether a beach is safe or unsafe for swimming can be a little more complicated.

In the Environment America Research and Policy Center report, the study authors used a specific EPA threshold and assumed that beaches were contaminated if 32 out of 1,000 swimmers could become ill from the pathogens. But this is not a universal standard.

“There are states and local governments that use a less protective threshold to determine when to close a beach, or even just to communicate to the public that there is a risk,” Rumpler said.

In Chicago, for example, a beach is considered contaminated if 36 out of 1,000 swimmers could potentially become ill, said Abhilasha Shrestha, PhD, a research assistant professor at the University of Illinois Chicago School of Public Health and a reviewer of the report.

Both thresholds are set by the EPA, so the definition of contamination can change depending on who is testing water, she saidHealth.

Hypothetically, some of the beaches identified as polluted in the report might still have been open to the public if the location had stricter pollution regulations.

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How do beaches become contaminated?

Water can be contaminated in a variety of ways - from trash to algae - but this newly released report focused specifically on water that has been contaminated with fecal matter. There are several ways these pathogens can enter coastal waters.

According to the EPA, up to 45% of beach spills have no clear cause. But about 21% is related to stormwater runoff.

During heavy rain, the water travels over hard surfaces such as streets or parking lots and picks up bacteria, oil, chemicals or other pollutants, Rumpler explained. These can eventually flow into coastal beaches.

Some cities also have shared sewer and stormwater systems that can overflow — resulting in "a mix of raw, untreated sewage and stormwater" that can sometimes flow onto recreational beaches, Rumpler said.

Runoff from large farms can also sometimes contaminate beaches, he added, as can wildlife feces.

And experts fear there could be more of this contamination in the U.S. in the coming years.

“Severe storms over a very short period of time can overwhelm the capacity of wastewater systems and the ability of our landscape to absorb stormwater,” Rumpler said. “So we think climate change is likely to make this problem worse unless we do more to prevent it.”

The country is also losing natural wetlands and other areas that would otherwise help contain fecal contamination, Rumpler said. When these green spaces are paved, there is a higher chance of rainwater running onto the beaches instead of being absorbed into the ground.

Rumpler and Shrestha agree that aging infrastructure is also a concern. Old or broken sewer and stormwater systems increase the likelihood that water will end up in oceans or lakes instead of to its intended destination.

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How to ensure a safe time at the beach

It is important to heed beach warnings or beach closures as swimming in contaminated water can be hazardous to your health.

“The most common recreational water illness may be [gastrointestinal] illness,” Shrestha said. People typically experience nausea, diarrhea and abdominal pain, she explained.

Contaminated water can also cause skin rashes or infections if it gets into a person's eyes or nose, for example. Some people could also get respiratory illnesses, Shrestha said, but that is much less likely.

These symptoms are unpleasant for everyone, but can be particularly dangerous for the elderly, immunocompromised people, children and pregnant women, explained Shrestha. The risk can also increase if a person comes into contact with a large amount of pollutants.

“Whether you swim or wade or paddleboard, your risk also depends on how much water you take in or whether you submerge,” she said. “So there are different levels of risk depending on what type of leisure activity you do.”

The level of pollution in the water is also a factor - people can catch diseases such as typhoid, dysentery or hepatitis by swimming in extremely polluted water, she added.

Of course, to avoid potential illness from fecal pathogens, people should make sure any beach they visit this summer is open and safe.

States typically post a list of potentially unsafe beaches online, and the EPA recommends checking for signs or problems before a trip to the beach. The EPA and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention have links to state beach monitoring sites.

And if someone lives in an area that has experienced heavy rain recently, they may want to postpone any beach plans to reduce the risk of coming into contact with polluted stormwater, Rumpler said.

People should also do what they can to ensure their favorite beaches don't get polluted in the first place, Shrestha added. Picking up pet waste and disposing of the trash can help reduce the risk of fecal contamination or pollution, she said.

However, to reduce pollution risks on a larger scale, more far-reaching changes may be required.

“We need to invest in repairing our water and wastewater infrastructure, particularly what we call green infrastructure,” Rumpler said. That means protecting existing landscapes and creating new ones to buffer and capture rainwater before it has a chance to pollute beaches, he explained.

To address the other causes of this contamination, the U.S. should focus on modernizing wastewater infrastructure, Shrestha said. A 2016 EPA survey found that completely modernizing U.S. wastewater systems would cost $271 billion. Currently, “more than $11 billion in clean water funding is being distributed as part of the bipartisan infrastructure bill,” an EPA spokesperson said.

“Every summer, millions of Americans want to go to the beach with their families, splash in the waves and have fun in the water,” Rumpler said. “And we want to ensure that all of our beaches are suitable for swimming at all times.”