Study finds rise in contamination at US beaches

Eleven percent of California’s beaches reported elevated levels of bacterial contamination, the largest amount in five years.

In Massachusetts, most of the 614 coastal beaches were monitored at least once a week. About 6 percent of all samples exceeded the maximum bacteria standards, down from 8 percent in 2009 and matching the results from 2008. Twenty-eight beaches exceeded the standard at least 20 percent of the time, with Kings at Stacy Brook in Essex County (83 percent), Cockle Cove Creek in Barnstable County (58 percent), and Great Pond at Long Point in Dukes County (50 percent) exceeding standards most frequently.

The report cited progress in preventing pollution in the Bay State, including enlarging a no-sewage-discharge zone for boaters off Cape Cod, building a wastewater treatment plant in Chatham, and completing the sewer-overflow tunnel that protects beaches in South Boston and Quincy.

Swimming in such pollution can cause gastrointestinal, respiratory, and other illnesses and is of particular risk for children and the elderly. The Environmental Protection Agency estimates that up to 3.5 million people become ill from contact with raw sewage from overflows every year.