TEXAS, USA — As the Texas heat continues, you might be tempted to head to the beach. Or not.
A new study by Environment Texas found that almost every Texas beach tested positive for unsafe levels of fecal bacteria in 2022.
Out of 61 beaches tested, 55 of them had unsafe levels on at least one testing day. At least eight of the beaches had unsafe levels of fecal matter on more than 25% of the days tested.
According to the study, four beaches in the Greater Houston area were ranked among the most potentially unsafe. Those beaches are:
- Texas City Dike (Galveston County)
- 25th St. near Galveston Island Historic Pleasure Pier (Galveston County)
- Clara St. near Crystal Beach (Galveston County)
- Sylvan Beach Park in La Porte (Harris County)
More than one-half of U.S. beaches had an unsafe level of contamination in 2022. The study also said about one out of every nine beaches tested positive for unsafe levels on at least 25% of testing days nationwide. According to CBS News, the issue is ongoing after more than 50 beaches in Massachusetts were closed last weekend due to a "dangerous amount of human waste" found.
Every year there are an estimated 57 million cases of people getting sick from swimming in contaminated water, with most of the pollution coming from stormwater runoff and overflowing sewage.
Congress hopes to reduce the threat of beach pollution after passing a bipartisan infrastructure law in 2021 that provides a total of $27.35 billion to the EPA Clean Water State Revolving Fund over a five-year period.