Va. Beach, N.C. get high marks in water report

By Jaedda Armstrong

It's that time of the year when many beaches are packed with surfers, swimmers - and sometimes, human and animal waste.

On Wednesday, a national environmental group released its annual rankings of beach conditions. Once again, Virginia and North Carolina have some of the nation's cleanest beaches.

The Natural Resources Defense Council reported that just 1 percent of the samples collected off Virginia's beaches last year violated public health standards. Only Delaware and New Hampshire received higher ratings. In North Carolina, 2 percent of samples violated standards.

Locations in Virginia Beach - two at Sandbridge and one each at 15th and 28th streets - received four out of five stars based on water quality and testing practices. The city would have five stars if officials monitored the beaches more than once a week, said Nancy Stoner, co-director of the council's clean water project.

Three beaches in Dare County, N.C., were rated with four stars, and two others received three. All three beaches on Ocracoke Island that were rated received four stars.

Nationwide, however, beaches continue to suffer from serious water pollution that puts swimmers at risk, the report said.

Louisiana, Ohio, Indiana, and Illinois have the dirtiest beaches, according to the report, titled "Testing the Waters 2009: A Guide to Water Quality at Vacation Beaches."

Although there was a 10 percent decrease nationally in the number of beach closings and advisory days in 2008, the number of such incidents topped 20,000 for the fourth year in a row. Beaches are closed or advisories issued when samples indicate that bacterial contamination exceeds public health standards.

In Virginia, beach closings and warnings from pollution dropped by 42 percent, down to 29, in 2008.

North Carolina's warnings increased by 37 percent, to 128. North Carolina's beaches don't close - only alerts and advisories are issued.

In nearly two-thirds of cases nationwide, officials could not determine the source of the contamination. That makes it difficult to combat because they don't know what they are looking for.

Storm water and sewage are frequent sources of pollution, Stoner said. "The water is highly contaminated with pesticides, oil, grease, and trash, and it's usually not treated before flowing into waterways."

Experts estimate some 7 million Americans are sickened by dirty water - either through recreation or drinking - every year. Illnesses can include skin rashes, pink eye, hepatitis, and meningitis.

The council is working with the Environmental Protection Agency to start testing waters for a wider range of bacteria and use a rapid testing method that can give results in two hours instead of 24.

The report also predicted that global warming will cause more rainfall, hurricanes, and storms, leading to more sewage overflow and more disease-causing bacteria dumped near beaches.

The Senate is considering legislation that will invest in clean energy technologies to reduce storm water flow.

Jaedda Armstrong, (757) 222-5846, jaedda.armstrong@pilotonline.com