2010 Beach Notification Summary

• Summary
• 2010 Season Updates by State
• Previous Swimming Season Updates

May 2011

To help beachgoers make informed decisions about swimming at U.S.beaches, EPA annually publishes a summary report and data about beach closings and advisories for the previous year's swimming season. For the sixth consecutive year, in 2010, the nation’s coastal and Great Lakes beaches were open 95 percent of the time during the swimming season.  Read about more 2010 national beach monitoring and notification statistics as well as recent developments in EPA's beach program.

Beach water monitoring is conducted primarily to detect bacteria that indicate the possible presence of disease-causing microbes (pathogens) from sewage or fecal pollution. People swimming in water contaminated with these types of pathogens can contract diseases of the gastrointestinal tract, eyes, ears, skin, and upper respiratory tract.  When monitoring results show levels of concern, the state or local government issues a beach advisory or closure notice until further sampling shows that the water quality is meeting the applicable standards. The 2010 report shows that more than 55 percent of beach closures lasted only a day or two.

Beach water pollution can occur for a number of reasons including stormwater runoff after heavy rainfall, treatment plant malfunctions,sewer system overflows, and pet and wildlife waste on or near the beach. To help minimize beachgoers' risk of exposure to pathogens in beachwaters, EPA is helping communities build and properly operate sewage treatment plants, working to reduce overflows as much as possible, and working with the U.S. Coast Guard to reduce discharges from boats and larger ships. Under the Beaches Environmental Assessment and Coastal Health (BEACH) Act of 2000, EPA provides annual grants to coastal and Great Lakes states, territories, and eligible tribes to help local authorities monitor their coastal and Great Lakes beaches and notify the public of water quality conditions that may be unsafe for swimming. To date, EPA has made available more than $100 million in BEACH grants to help protect beachgoers. As a result, the number of beaches monitored has increased by more than 1,200.

Beaches are currently being monitored for the 2011 swimming season. See the latest information that coastal and Great Lakes states, territories and tribes have sent to EPA.

For data on an individual state, please choose a state from the map below. Please note that data for some states are undergoing final state approval and are not yet available.

Note: EPA no longer updates this information, but it may be useful as a reference or resource.

• 2009 Swimming Season (May 2010)
• 2008 Swimming Season (May 2009)
• 2007 Swimming Season (May 2008)
• 2006 Swimming Season (May 2007)
• 2005 Swimming Season (June 2006)
• 2004 Swimming Season (July 2005)
• 2002 Swimming Season (PDF) (4 pp, 515K; May 2003)
• 2001 Swimming Season (PDF) (4 pp, 268K; May 2002)
• 1999 Swimming Season (July 2000)