Posted on 08/30/2025 11:15:06 AM PDT by E. Pluribus Unum
Many U.S. beaches face Labor Day swim advisories due to unsafe fecal bacteria levels, posing health risks like illness, rashes, and nausea for swimmers.
Thousands of Americans will head to beaches for one last summer splash this Labor Day weekend, but taking a dip might be out of the question: Many of the beaches will caution against swimming because of unsafe levels of fecal contamination.
Beaches from Crystal River, Florida, to Ogunquit, Maine, have been under advisories warning about water quality this week because of elevated levels of bacteria associated with fecal waste. The advisories typically discourage beachgoers from going in the water because the bacteria can cause gastrointestinal illness, rashes and nausea.
There have been closures this week at some of the country's most popular beach destinations, including Keyes Memorial Beach in the Cape Cod village of Hyannis in Barnstable, Massachusetts; Benjamin's Beach on Long Island in Bay Shore, New York; and a portion of the Imperial Beach shoreline near San Diego. Even on the pristine, white sand beaches of Hawaii, the Hawaii State Department of Health is warning of a high bacteria count at Kahaluu Beach Park on the Big Island.
It's a longstanding and widespread problem. Nearly two-thirds of beaches tested nationwide in 2024 experienced at least one day in which indicators of fecal contamination reached potentially unsafe levels, conservation group Environment America said in a report issued this summer.
The group reviewed beaches on the coasts and Great Lakes and found that 84% of Gulf Coast beaches exceeded the standard at least once. The number was 79% for West Coast beaches, 54% for East Coast beaches and 71% for Great Lakes beaches.
The report also said more than 450 beaches were potentially unsafe for swimming on at least 25 percent of the days tested. A key reason...
(Excerpt) Read more at scrippsnews.com ...
Good gosh ... there has ALWAYS been bacteria at the beach.
TPTB reeeeeeally don’t want people catching HEALTHY sun rays. Sheesh.
The leftist extremist democrat officials allowing this and the cities should be fined by the EPA.
If any corporation allowed such pollution from their facilities they would be prosecuted and fined.
The EPA goons salivate over the headlines and stories from busting the private sector.
Why is the EPA turning a blind eye to the public sector polluters?
Said fecal contamination may be due to the Marine Mammal Protection Act as applied to seals and sea lions. The nitrate plume from Año Nuevo Point north of Santa Cruz, CA is said to be visible from space.
Should we start killing whales again?
Didn’t see the San Diego beaches that are chronically polluted by Tijuana river runoff.
Send 50 million illegals home and we’ll have more than enough septic capacity.
Don't know. It may be a good thing to balance krill consumption for example among various competing demands, from whales to anadromous salmonids. Of course the greenies would say that orca can do that for us, but my expectation is that predator mediated competition would send the whole system into a series of boom and bust cycles.
Guess that ends peeing from the diving board for many.
“...and a portion of the Imperial Beach shoreline near San Diego.”
From the article.
Did you know that every sea creature uses the sea as their toilet?
This can happen at swimming pools too.... : )
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TPxiXGr9nFM
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.