You could be swimming in poop: How to know if your beach water is safe
When you visit the beach, it's understandable to assume that the water you're swimming in is clean. But a new report found that more than half the beaches across the country have fecal contamination that exceeds standards set by the Environmental Protection Agency. Basically, you could be swimming in poop.
For the study, researchers from Environment America analyzed water safety data from 3,192 beaches across the country in 2022. They discovered that 1,761 (55%) had at least one day when fecal contamination reached potentially unsafe levels by EPA standards. (Fecal contamination, in case you're not familiar with the term, means that the water was contaminated with bacteria from poop that can make you sick.)
Worth flagging: One out of every nine beaches had potentially unsafe levels of fecal contamination on at least 25% of the days when testing took place. Though beach contamination happened across the country, it was most common on the Gulf Coast, where a jaw-dropping 84% of beaches had at least one unsafe day, and the West Coast, with 70% of beaches having a day with contamination levels that exceeded thresholds.
"For a number of beaches — 363 — the threshold was exceeded quite regularly," John Rumpler, clean water director and senior attorney for Environment America, who was involved in the study, tells Yahoo Life. Rumpler points out that beaches may also have had contamination on days when testing didn't take place.
While swimming in poop sounds gross (and it is), experts say there's more to be concerned about than just the ick factor. Here's the deal.
How does fecal bacteria get into beach water in the first place?
There are a few different ways that water can be contaminated with bacteria from poop. The EPA lists the following as some of the biggest causes of fecal contamination at beaches:
Malfunctioning sewage treatment plants and discharges from combined sewers
Improperly maintained septic systems
Sewage from recreational boaters
Rainwater runoff carrying pet and other animal waste
A high number of swimmers
"The most common issues are going to be runoff pollution and sewage overflows," Rumpler says. "Sewage overflow contains human poop, and runoff pollution often contains animal poop."
Certain areas can also have water runoff from factory farms that "generate millions of gallons of manure," he says.
What can happen if you swim in water with fecal contamination?
"Swimming in poop can make you sick," Rumpler says. There are a few things that can happen.
One is a diarrheal illness. "Diarrhea is the most common illness reported for outbreaks linked to water in these places," Dr. Nicholas Kman, an emergency medicine physician at the Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center, tells Yahoo Life.
"Your greatest hazard is some sort of gastroenteritis, especially if you swallow the water," Dr. Russ Kino, medical director of the Weingart Foundation Emergency Department at Providence Saint John's Health Center in Santa Monica, Calif., tells Yahoo Life. "That can lead to abdominal cramps, diarrhea and vomiting."
Kman points out that you don't even need high levels of fecal bacteria in water to get sick. "If one person infected with Cryptosporidium [crypto] has diarrhea in the water, the water can be contaminated with tens of millions of crypto germs," he says. "It only takes 10 or fewer germs to cause infection, which means that swallowing even a small amount of contaminated water can make you sick."
That's especially dangerous for people who are immunocompromised, as well as young children and older adults, Dr. Arashdeep K. Litt, an internal medicine physician with Corewell Health, tells Yahoo Life. On the other hand, "healthy adults will get mild illness — it's more unpleasant than dangerous for them," she says.
There's also a risk of developing skin infections and urinary tract infections if you swim in water with fecal contamination, Litt says. Some people may develop illnesses such as ear infections, eye infections and respiratory infections, Kman says.
What to do if you swam in contaminated water
If you realize after the fact that you went swimming in contaminated water, Kino recommends washing off well with soap and water.
It's also a good idea to monitor yourself for symptoms of illnesses, including severe diarrhea that causes dehydration or bloody poop with a fever, Kman says. If you develop those, it's a good idea to seek medical attention, he says.
If you develop diarrhea after swimming in contaminated water but it's not bloody and you don't have symptoms of dehydration, Kino recommends doing your best to stay hydrated by drinking water or a beverage with electrolytes, such as a sports drink.
How to lower your risk of swimming in contaminated water
Unfortunately, water contamination isn't usually something you can see. Rumpler says pollution tends to be the most concerning after heavy rains — that's when more water runs off from farms, streets and other areas and contaminates beaches. Because of this, he recommends being cautious about going swimming after intense storms.
Many areas have agencies that monitor local water quality and post results online. Rumpler suggests checking for more information with your local health department or division of wildlife and fishing. If you're unsure how to find your local agency, Environment America has specifics for each state under "state dashboard" at the bottom of the report.
But Rumpler points out that contaminated water isn't something that people should just accept. "We don't want to live with this," he says. "We need to double down on efforts to fix water infrastructure. We need to keep working on this problem."
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