Polluted beaches — 07/31/08

July 30, 2008 05:10 pm

— Here’s just what those promoting tourism do NOT want to hear or read in the midst of the summer swimming season: Neighboring Ohio ranked second among all states with coastal beaches that have water samples exceeding accepted bacteria levels, such as E. coli.
You may be wondering how a Midwestern state like Ohio could be considered to have “coastal beaches,” but since the St. Lawrence Seaway links the Great Lakes to the Atlantic Ocean, the Natural Resources Defense Council considers the beaches along Lake Erie to be “coastal.” In fact, only Illinois — another Midwestern state — topped Ohio in the percentage of water samples exceeding bacterial levels considered safe for swimming.
According to the latest report by the Natural Resource Defense Council, 18 percent of the water samples taken from Lake Erie in 2007 exceeded the acceptable level for bacteria. The good news is that that’s an improvement over 2006, when 22 percent of the samples from Lake Erie exceeded the acceptable level for bacteria. However, it is higher than the 14 percent of samples taken in 2005.
To be sure, area residents planning to go to the beach are far more likely to head toward Myrtle Beach than Cedar Point, but if you were hoping to catch some rays on a lakeside beach, the new report may make you think twice before going into the water. And that can’t do anything but harm tourism.