CNN is reporting that five Cameron Parish beaches have landed on a National Resources Defense Council (NRDC) list of the worst beaches in America.  Those five join 10 other national beaches ranked for the worst in bacteria counts and contamination problems.

Specifically, the report landed Cameron Parish among the “Repeat Offenders” for beaches with high amounts of sewage runoff and animal waste.  The report included over 3,000 beaches nationwide.  The “Repeat Offenders” are beaches that have had persistent contamination problems, with water samples violating public health standards more than 25% of the time for each year from 2007 to 2011.

The five Cameron Parish beaches named as “Repeat Offenders” by the NRDC include:

  1. Constance Beach in Cameron Parish
  2. Gulf Breeze in Cameron Parish
  3. Little Florida in Cameron Parish
  4. Long Beach in Cameron Parish
  5. Rutherford Beach in Cameron Parish
Cameron Parish beaches marked
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The report, Testing the Waters: A Guide to Water Quality at Vacation Beaches, looks at 2011 data collected from test results taken at more than 3,000 beaches nationwide. It examines the pollution factors that affect these U.S. vacation spots and calls for public efforts to clean up.

The report found that last year the nation’s beach waters continued to be affected by serious contamination and pollutants from human and animal waste. As a result, America’s beaches had the third-highest number of closings or advisories in the report’s history, with the second-highest number occurring just the year before. Progress, according to the report, is not being made.

CNN.com

The other “Repeat Offenders” on the top 15 list include:

  • California: Avalon Beach in Los Angeles County (3 of 5 monitored sections):
  • California: Avalon Beach – West of Green Pleasure Pier (50 feet)
  • California: Avalon Beach – West of Green Pleasure Pier (100 feet)
  • California: Avalon Beach – East of Green Pleasure Pier
  • California: Doheny State Beach in Orange County (3 of 6 monitored sections):
  • California: Doheny State Beach – North of San Juan Creek
  • California: Doheny State Beach – Surfzone at Outfall
  • California: Doheny State Beach – 1000′ South Outfall
  • Illinois: Winnetka Elder Park Beach in Cook County
  • Illinois: North Point Marina North Beach in Lake County
  • New Jersey: Beachwood Beach West in Ocean County
  • New York: Woodlawn Beach – Woodlawn Beach State Park in Erie County
  • New York: Ontario Beach in Monroe County
  • Ohio: Euclid State Park in Cuyahoga County
  • Ohio: Villa Angela State Park in Cuyahoga County
  • Wisconsin: South Shore Beach in Milwaukee County

 

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