and even though stormwater remains a leading cause of pollution at california ’s beaches , hoping for less rain is not a long - term solution .
according to nrdc ’s annual beach water report , testing the waters : a guide to water quality at vacation beaches , released today , 9 percent of water quality samples collected last year at california beaches contained bacteria levels that failed to meet the most protective threshold for swimmer safety set by the environmental protection agency ( epa ) – putting california , sadly , on par with a 10 percent failure rate for the country ’s beaches overall .
posted june 25 , 2014 “ rain , rain go away … ” might be popular as a nursery rhyme , but it ’s a hugely unpopular sentiment right now in california , as this epic drought puts increasing strain on communities throughout the state .
making matters worse are the hundreds of billions of gallons of sewage that go untreated annually , ending up in water and causing 3.5 million americans to fall ill each year .
the major culprit is stormwater runoff , which inevitably ends up in the ocean after picking up garbage , oil and waste products from both humans and animals along the way .
finding a way to reduce pollution is absolutely critical for california ’s thriving beach and coastal economy .
beaches and identifies opportunities for all of us – government leaders , homeowners and beachgoers – to keep pollution out of our beaches , lakes , and rivers .
in 2012 , nearly 2,000 beaches were closed in new york and new jersey alone as a result of pollution .
things are particularly bad in new england , on the gulf coast and along the great lakes , according to the data .