Testing the Waters 2007
A Guide to Water Quality at Vacation Beaches


NRDC's annual survey of water quality and public notification at U.S. beaches finds that pollution caused a record number of beach closings nationwide in 2006. The number of 2006 closing and advisory days at ocean, bay, and Great Lakes beaches topped 25,000 -- more than ever recorded in the survey's 17-year history. This edition of Testing the Waters takes an especially close took at the nation's highest risk beaches -- those that are either very popular, very close to pollution sources, or both. The 2007 survey is based on information reported for 2006. [En Español]

How Clean Is Your Beach?

Visit our Your Oceans site for water quality info on popular beaches.

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  Click for print-friendly version of entire report in pdf format (2 MB).

OVERVIEW & QUICK REFERENCE
Press release
Summary of findings
Frequently Asked Questions
Guide to Finding a Clean Beach
Swimming in the Great Lakes (pdf)

TABLE OF CONTENTS
The pages below are in Adobe Acrobat format.
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Executive Summary
National Overview
Chapter 1: Sources of Beachwater Pollution
Chapter 2: Health Risks and Economic Impacts of Beach Pollution
Chapter 3: Beachwater Monitoring and Closing/Advisory Practices
Chapter 4: Plan of Action
Chapter 5: State Summaries
Individual state pages:
Alabama | Alaska | California | Connecticut | Delaware | Florida | Georgia | Hawaii | Illinois | Indiana | Louisiana | Maine | Maryland | Massachusetts | Michigan | Minnesota | Mississippi | New Hampshire | New Jersey | New York | North Carolina | Ohio | Oregon | Pennsylvania | Rhode Island | South Carolina | Texas | Virginia | Washington | Wisconsin

TABLES AND FIGURES
To view the tables and figures, see the full report.
Figure 1: Total Closing/Advisory Days, 2000-2006 (excluding extended and permanent)
Figure 2: Reported Causes of Closings/Advisories in 2006
Figure 3: Reported Causes of Closings/Advisories, 2000-2006
Figure 4: Sources of Pollution That Caused Closings/Advisories, 2006
Figure 5: Sources of Pollution That Caused Closings/Advisories, 2000-2006
Figure 6: Major Pollution Sources Causing Beach Closings/Advisories in 2006
Figure 7: Expansion of HAB Problems in the U.S.
Figure 8: Lag Time Associated with Current Water Quality Monitoring and Public Notification Methods
Table 1: Rank of States by Percent of Tier 1 Beachwater Samples Exceeding the National Standard in 2006
Table 2: Tier 1 Beaches with More Than 25 Percent of Samples Exceeding National Standards in 2006, by Percent Exceedance
Table 3: U.S. Ocean, Bay, Great Lakes and Some Freshwater Beach Closings/Advisories, 2000-2006
Table 4: Details on the 62 Waterborne Disease Outbreaks Reported to CDCP: Jan 2003-Dec 2004
Table 5: Pathogens and Swimming-Associated Illnesses
Table 6: BEACH Act-Required Beachwater Water Quality Standards
Table 7: Value of Tourism to Selected Coastal States
Table 8: 2007 Federal BEACH Act Grant Allocations to States and Territories
Table 9: Number and Percent of Tier 1 Beaches Regularly Monitored in 2006
Table 10: Abbreviations Used in Beach Closing/Advisory Tables


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