This browser does not support the Video element.
Most polluted US beaches are in California
Imperial Beach in San Diego, California, was one of two beaches where every water sample collected recorded levels exceeding recreational health standards.
LOS ANGELES - California is home to one of the most polluted beaches in the world, according to a new study.
The annual Clean Water Report put out by nonprofit environmental group Surfrider Foundation ranked Imperial Beach in San Diego County with a 100% high bacteria rate score. The report noted the beach, located close to the Mexico border, has a high pollution rate due to cross-border sewage and an inadequate treatment plant that is currently leaking tainted water into the Tijuana River Estuary.
In the report, thousands of water samples across the world were tested, and the study found that 64% of the 567 sites tested had at least one sample with unsafe bacteria levels.
Imperial Beach wasn't the only one to receive a 100% high bacteria rate score. The other was Nāwiliwili Stream on Kaua’i, according to the report.
SUGGESTED:
- Chiquita Canyon Landfill operators given violation notice by EPA
- California clean energy project threatens thousands of protected Joshua trees: reports
- Southern California coastal living will be 5 times more expensive by 2050 - here's why
- 2023 marks hottest summer in over 2,000 years in Northern Hemisphere, study finds
"This complex and beautiful region … has been plagued with severe pollution for decades," Surfrider Foundation said in its report. "Every day, millions of gallons of contaminated water carrying stormwater runoff, raw sewage, harmful chemicals, and trash traverse the U.S.-Mexico border through the Tijuana River Watershed and flow out into the Pacific Ocean in Imperial Beach."
"This public health and environmental justice emergency has been going on for decades and it’s only getting worse, especially with climate change-related storm events further stressing the already inadequate and failing regional wastewater infrastructure," the report continued.
The San Diego County beach wasn't the only one in California to rank high on the list.
Linda Mar Beach in Pacifica received a 54% bacteria rate, and San Luis Creek Mouth in San Luis Obispo received a 35% rate.
To read the full report, tap or click here.