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Planning on heading to the beach? As this ScienCentral News video explains, scientists are warning how dirty our oceans and lakes are, and why they're getting that way.
Paving and Pollution
We Americans love our beaches and coastlines, but it seems we're able to enjoy them less and less. The number of beach warnings issued nationwide increased by 29% from 2004 to 2005, based on statistics from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. Most of these warnings were due to excess fecal bacteria in the water. Now scientists say we're making the problem worse by paving over land that would otherwise filter out such pollution before it reaches oceans and lakes.
"The big problem comes when coastal development (covers) up these natural areas. They can no longer serve as a filter," says Michael Mallin, marine scientist with University of North Carolina, Wilmington.
Writing in Scientific American magazine, Mallin explained that he and his team found that creeks surrounded by the least amount of impervious surfaces -- like parking lots, roadways, and homes -- had the lowest disease-causing microbe counts, but areas surrounded by more hard surfaces were significantly dirtier.
"Storm water runoff is very high in fecal bacteria, and thus when it cannot be filtered out by the natural soils, by the natural vegetation, it just rushes right off the landscape and rushes into these tidal waters," says Mallin. "Unfortunately, local governments are often uninformed about the problems that could come about through over-development, and are unduly influenced by lobbyists from builders who are not particularly concerned about the environment. Just particularly concerned about being able to build where they want, when they want, and aren't concerned about government regulations at all."
Elliot Negin, a spokesman for the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC), agrees. "We've paved paradise, and now we're paying with our health. We need to be smarter about how we build on our coasts to maintain natural vegetation and wetlands, which soak up rainwater and filter out pollutants. Otherwise too often a trip to the beach will turn into a night in the bathroom, or worse, in the hospital."
Walter Mugdan, regional director of the EPA's Division of Environmental Planning and Protection, says billions are being spent nationwide, but more can be done and should be done particularly by the local municipalities with these problems. To start, he says developers must incorporate green spaces in their projects.
image: ABC News
"If you design the urban area well and thoughtfully, and we're beginning to learn about how much we can do in that regard, you can mimic some of these natural phenomena. This natural filtering capacity can be saved. You can do smart growth, smart development," says Mugdun.
Besides dirty recreational areas, shellfish beds are also at risk, and this could lead to higher prices for consumers.
The EPA's beach monitoring report for the 2005 season can be found online. The NRDC will be issuing its 16th annual report on vacation beach water quality, "Testing the Waters," later this summer.
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