HALEIWA, Hawaii — The Department of Health warned the public of high levels of enterococci at Haleiwa Alii Beach Park on Oahu. Enterococci is fecal bacteria, which comes from human and animal waste and may threaten public health and coral reefs.
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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.
Fecal contamination comes from urban runoff, sewage overflows and manure from industrial livestock production. Roughly half of U.S. beaches tested had potentially unsafe contamination levels in 2022.
According to a damning new report from Environment America, over half of all U.S. beaches are contaminated with poop. Yep, you read that right. Pollution, overdevelopment, and unsanitary conditions have given many beaches a filthy reputation, making swimming in the water potentially unsafe.
Kamilo Beach, which translates from Hawaiian to “twisting or swirling currents” is more often known as “Plastic Beach.” It's one of the dirtiest places in the world.
All beaches support populations of microbes, but a study from Rutgers University determined that not all beaches are the same. Microbial ecology differs not only between regions—such as freshwater beaches on the Great Lakes, or Atlantic or Pacific ocean beaches—but also between locations on the same beach.
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.
You can get sick with diarrhea if you swallow contaminated water in pools, hot tubs, splash pads, oceans, lakes, or rivers. In fact, diarrhea is the most common illness reported for outbreaks linked to water in these places.