Northeast Ohio had some of nation's unhealthiest beaches in 2008, group says EPA data shows
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Ohio had some of the nation's unhealthiest beaches for the third straight summer last year, according to a study of EPA water-quality records by a national environmental group.
Worse yet, the bad bacteria might not just be in the water: Some new scientific studies suggest that playing in the sand might be more dangerous to our health than swimming in water tainted by sewage, suburban runoff and animal waste.
Most recently, researchers writing in the American Journal of Epidemiology said they have found that sand could also contain high levels of fecal bacteria.
That means beachgoers who dig or bury themselves or their children in the sand stand a greater risk of developing gastrointestinal illnesses, according to a story in the New York Times.
"It's true that a number of studies are showing that beach sand can carry bacteria as well," said Laura Travers, who monitors public and private beaches in Northeast Ohio for the Cuyahoga County Health Department. "But there's also no standard yet on how to deal with that, so we've got to focus on what we can do with the water."
The National Resources Defense Council has issued its water-quality rankings for the last 18 years. And Northeast Ohio's Lake Erie beaches haven't fared well in recent years.
"Our beaches are the most monitored in the nation," said Frank Greenland, director of watershed programs for the Northeast Ohio Regional Sewer District, which has been voluntarily screening water quality for 16 years.
"So it's not really apples to apples to compare us to places that test only once a week. Still, we know there's a problem and we're addressing it in a number of ways."
The district has spent $2.5 billion to divert sewer overflows to treatment plants -- cutting by half the 10 billion gallons of sewage that once flowed into Lake Erie annually.
Still, bacteria levels at Lake Erie beaches exceeded acceptable levels about 19 percent of the time -- behind only Louisiana (29 percent).
The NRDC declared Ohio beaches the worst in the nation in 2007 and second worst in 2008. The group gathers figures from 30 different shoreline states.
About 7 percent of all water samples taken nationwide exceeded federal health standards. Lake Erie and other Great Lakes beaches, however, were nearly twice that.
The most common bacteria found in swimming water in Ohio and elsewhere is E. coli, which is found in fecal matter in sewage or in runoff from wildlife or farms.
Travers, of the county health department, said the best health advice for swimmers in Northeast Ohio or anywhere is also the simplest: "Don't go hand to mouth, and wash your hands often," she said.
Swimmers at Huntington and Edgewater beaches can get daily water-quality forecasts by going to ohionowcast.info or by calling 216-432-7301.
Swimmers at other beaches can also view bacteria levels -- but not until the day after -- by going to tinyurl.com/neobeaches.