Do beaches contain fecal matter?

Beaches, like swimming pools, can be contaminated with poop, but that doesn't mean you have to give up on your summer plans. But, you should consider checking the beach's water quality levels before going for a swim.



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Eighty-four percent of Gulf Coast beaches, 70% of West Coast beaches, and 63% of the Great Lakes reached these potentially unsafe levels at least once in 2022. A tool on the Environment America website shows state-by-state data if you want to see how your local beaches stack up.

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55% of American beaches have unsafe levels of fecal contamination. WASHINGTON (TND) — More than half of all beaches in America had at least one day in 2022 when the water tested positive for potentially unsafe levels of fecal contamination, according to the advocacy group Environment America.

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You might not see it or smell it, but a lot of America's beaches are infested with fecal bacteria.

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Beaches With Clear Water: The Best in the United States
  • Waimea Bay Beach Park, Hawaii. ...
  • Crandon Park Beach, Florida. ...
  • Assateague Island, Maryland and Virginia. ...
  • Clearwater Beach, Florida. ...
  • Carmel Beach, Carmel by The Sea, California. ...
  • Cannon Beach, Oregon. ...
  • Lake Tahoe, California and Nevada. ...
  • Clear Water, Clear Skies, Good Times.


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According to a recent report from Environment America, 55 percent of the 3,192 beaches around the country that were regularly tested for potential contamination by government researchers in 2022 had potentially unsafe levels of bacteria on at least one testing day.

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Kamilo Beach, located on the south-eastern tip of Hawaii's Big Island, has been dubbed one of the most plastic-polluted spots on the planet.

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Beach sand has been found to contain eggs and/or larvae of the human and zoonotic parasites Toxocara spp. (roundworm), Ancylostoma spp. (hookworm) and Trichuris spp.

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Protozoa. The zoonotic and human protozoan parasites Cryptosporidium spp. and Giardia spp. have both been detected in beach sand (Zanoli Sato et al., 2005; Abdelzaher et al., 2010; Shah et al., 2011). These organisms cause gastrointestinal illness in humans.

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Some two-thirds of Great Lakes beaches that were tested had at least one unsafe day, according to the Environment America report. In Ohio and Pennsylvania, which border Lake Erie, all but three of the tested beaches had at least one unsafe day last year.

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Another potential threat beachgoers should be aware of in Florida is Vibrio vulnificus — rare species of so-called flesh-eating bacteria found in raw shellfish or seawater. The dangerous strain of vibrio bacteria has been linked to five deaths in Florida this year, state health officials said.

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