There’s no denying that pollution is everywhere.  Efforts by environmentalists to clean up our rivers, lakes and even oceans continue.

What’s the progress to date?

Just released, on July 30, 2009, was a report from the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC).  It was their 19th annual report, “Testing the Waters: A Guide to Beach Water Quality at Vacation Beaches,” and the facts it contained showed that there were serious public health risks and problems with the health of beach water all across the country.

According to this report, more than 20,000 beaches were closed down for a few days or a few weeks, in 2008.  These were ocean, bay and Great Lakes beaches.  Although the report stated that there was actually a 10 percent decrease in nationwide closing and advisory days at beaches from 2007, the conclusion was that this was the result of dry conditions in many parts of the country, rather than any large scale improvement in water quality.  Indeed, because of decreased funding for water monitoring in some states last year, some beaches remained open that should have been closed.

For example, New Jersey monitors 260 beaches.  Of these 224 are designated bathing beaches and 36 are environmental stations (which are not included in the report).

Interestingly, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency recommends closures or advisories after one-day sampling of water.   New Jersey takes another sample the next day before issuing a closure.  The result, according to this study, is that the time in which the public is potentially exposed to unsafe conditions is extended.

According to the report, in New Jersey, the 2008 ocean and bay beach closures were as follows:

•    208 days of closures/advisories, an increase from the 142 days of closures/advisories in 2007.

•    120 days were preemptive due to medical waste or trash that washed up on the beach; 117 of these days were due to the August criminal medical dumping event in Cape May.

•    56 days were preemptive closings (without waiting for testing results) due to heavy rainfall that is known to cause high bacteria and pollution problems at 5 beaches.

•    1 day was a preemptive closure due to a sewage leak.

•    31 days of closings and advisories were a result of direct monitoring the revealed elevated bacteria levels from unknown sources of contamination.

“We are seeing every year more and more beach closings, brown tides, medical waste, and jelly fish at the shore, this is an alarm bell going off that we have to be more to protective our ocean and shore that we all love,” stated Jeff Tittel, Director NJ Sierra Club. “Sprawl and over development is directly killing our coast and the State of NJ does not even want to test for the problems, let alone fix them.”

When it rains, pathogens from pet wastes, pesticides, fertilizers, litter, other pollutants, and even raw sewage wash into waterways, thereby polluting and closing beaches.