U.S. Beach Closures, Advisories Rose 75% in ‘98; El Nino Blamed
U.S. beach closings and safety advisories rose 75% in 1998 to a record 7,236, largely reflecting contamination caused by the El Nino weather phenomenon, an environmental group said Thursday.
California accounted for 3,273 of the closings and advisories, due to heavy El Nino rains in Southern California, according to the annual report on the water quality of lakes and oceans by the independent Natural Resources Defense Council. California had 1,141 beach closings and advisories in 1997.
El Nino is the common name for a regular eastward migration of warm water from the tropical western Pacific Ocean. It is blamed for setting off weather patterns that cause flooding, droughts and storms across the globe.
“Heavy rains, such as those in California last year, wash contaminants into the beach water and the bacterial levels can skyrocket,” said Mark Dorfman, author of the report.
In 1997, there were 4,153 U.S. beach closings and advisories.
Sarah Chasis, spokeswoman for the NRDC, told a news conference that the increase in the reported number of polluted beaches could also be explained partly by a rise in the number of localities providing reports to the council.
Unsafe bacteria levels caused mainly by sewage and storm water accounted for 63% of beach closings last year, the report said.
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