Today, the NRDC published their 23rd annual beachwater
quality report. The report analyzes water quality and number of beach closings and
swimming advisories at 3,000 US beach locations. Closing and swimming
advisories are caused from polluted water and threat of contamination. Stormwater
runoff and sewage are sources of contamination.
The NRDC also rates the 200 most popular beaches based on water quality,
testing practices, and public notifications over the last five years. No NY/NJ
beaches received a perfect rating; however, 14 did receive 4:5 stars. Two of
NY/NJ beaches were within the top 11 beaches that violated standards.
Each of the 30 states evaluated for this report were ranked
according to the number of water quality samples violating the EPA’s federal
standards. The lowest ranked state has the fewest violations. Based on data for
2012, NY is ranked 22nd and NJ is ranked 7th. Last year, NY
and NJ had 1,871 closing and advisory days. Violations per county were
evaluated for each state: Monroe County, NY and Ocean County, NJ had the most
violations.
One strategy to reduce water contamination is green
infrastructure, which reduces stormwater. New York has already finalized a plan
for green infrastructure projects and we hope New Jersey will do the same.
Click here to read the press release.
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