New Jersey Had Less Beach Closings In 2009 But Water Quality Is Still A Problem
The Natural Resources Defense Council released its guide to beach water quality Wednesday. It found that in 2009 New Jersey had 180 total days of beach closures down from 208 days in 2008. 71 percent were preemptive closings due to heavy rainfall. 93 percent of the closings were because of unknown sources of contamination.
"Knowledge is power, people have the right to know if they may be exposed to fecal contamination and the sooner the better," says Cindy Zipf, Executive Director of Clean Ocean Action. "Updates to the state rules are needed to protect public health and increase awareness of pollution. Action is pending on Federal bills that are also critical. The bills will require all states to comply with new testing methods, require track down of any suspected sources, and mandate swift reporting of polluted beaches. Combined, the law once passed will bring testing and notification into the 21st century," added Zipf.
Ocean County had the highest daily maximum bacteria standard exceedance rate in 2009 followed by Monmouth, Atlantic and Cape May counties.
Overall the NRDC ranked New Jersey 14th nationally for beach water quality.
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