You’re not only swimming in pee and poop particles, but also walking in it, too.
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USA Today, reported on high levels of fecal bacteria in the water along beaches in Galveston Texas, last month.
“The different decay rates of wastewater bacteria in beach sand and seawater indicate that beach sand needs to be considered carefully in assessing its impact on water quality monitoring and public health”, the researchers said in the study.
Scientists use a quick-and-easy fecal coliform test to determine whether water has been contaminated with fecal matter. The bacteria originates with “warm-blooded animals” (think everything from humans to sea gulls to deer) and can get to waterways via storm runoff, leaking sewers, improperly discarded diapers, or even from swimmers who have accidents. Some of the bacteria could be pathogenic and cause typhoid, ear infections dysentery, gastroenteritis, cholera and hepatitis A. For example, while it’s harmless for a certain amount of it to be found in swimming waters, any amount of the bacteria is unacceptable and very risky in drinking water. According to a study in the ACS journal Environmental Science & Technology, the sand in polluted beaches is considerably more contaminated than the seawater (up to 100 times higher in some cases) because organisms survive longer outside the water. To understand why, Dr. Tao Yan, associate professor at the University of Hawaii, and his colleagues investigated the situation.
Researchers based at the University of Hawaii have confirmed what scientists have known for many years: there is more presence of fecal contamination on beach sand than beach water. But he cautioned that anyone planning on going to a beach closed due to water quality, should take care to stay out of the water and have a towel to lay down on in the sand.
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Soon enough, they observed that fecal coliform bateria decays much slower within the sand than the waves, and it’s suggested that the occurrence is similar outside the simulation.
