U.S. Beaches Often Unsafe for Swimming Due to Sewage

This is kind of gross.

A new report released by Environment America and Frontier Group has found that more than half of the beaches in coastal states and the Great Lakes states in the United States saw at least one day in 2018 where their water wasn’t safe for swimming.

The bacteria levels were higher than what the Environmental Protection Agency deems acceptable.

The report had data from 4,523 beach sites in 29 states.

The main source of the bacteria is sewage.

This pollution can expose swimmers to illness or infection.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, in 2017 almost 7,000 people died from pathogens transmitted by water.