Some Washington Beaches May Be Unsafe For Swimming, Report Finds

WASHINGTON — Plenty of summer days remain for Washington State residents to enjoy the beach, but a new report finds that the state’s beaches may not always be safe for swimming — and the potentially filthy waters can lead to illness.

Looking at bacteria sampling data collected by authorities in 29 states and Puerto Rico, the report authors found that more than half the beaches tested were potentially unsafe for swimming on at least one day in 2018. The analysis also showed that 610 beaches were potentially unsafe on 25 percent of the days they were tested for bacteria.

Beaches cited in the report posed a swimming risk if the bacteria samples exceeded the Environmental Protection Agency’s “Beach Action Value,” which is a stricter threshold than recommended by the agency for recreational water. The “Beach Action Value” corresponds to an estimated 32 illnesses for every 1,000 swimmers. One of the report’s recommendations to make beaches safer is to use the stricter EPA standard for making decisions on advisories and closures.

In Washington, 41 percent of the 215 beaches tested were unsafe for swimming for at least one day in 2018.

Last year, 89 beaches sampled for bacteria were potentially unsafe for swimmers on at least one day. The top 10 beaches by the most number of days that were potentially unsafe for swimming are:

• Sooes Beach in Clallam County tested unsafe for seven of the 41 days of sampling.
• Lummi Bay, directly adjacent to second tidegate, in Whatcom County tested unsafe for five of the 34 days of sampling.
• Dakwas Park Beach, Neah Bay, in Clallam County tested unsafe for five of the 48 days of sampling.
• Little Squalicum Park in Whatcom County tested unsafe for five of the 15 days of sampling.
• Cline Spit County Park in Clallam County tested unsafe for four of the 15 days of sampling.
• Golden Gardens in King County tested unsafe for four of the 14 days of sampling.
• Richey Viewpoint in King County tested unsafe for four of the 13 days of sampling.
• Kayak Point County Park in Snohomish County tested unsafe for three of the 17 days of sampling.
• Dakwas Park Beach, Neah Bay, in Clallam County (during another period) tested unsafe for three of the 48 days of sampling.
• Hollywood Beach in Clallam County tested unsafe for three of the 16 days of sampling.

The report notes that beaches cannot be compared to each other since the testing takes place on different schedules and at different frequencies.

Waters polluted with sewage or fecal matter can make swimmers sick, and millions of waterborne illnesses are reported each year in the United States, the report says. The report by the Environment America Research & Policy Center looked at data for 2018 collected by local and federal officials from 4,523 beaches.

To make waters safer for swimming, the report says pollution from urban runoff, sewage and manure needs to be curtailed.

Read the full report from the Environment America Research & Policy Center.

Patch National Editor Feroze Dhanoa contributed to this report