Hawaii’s beaches were ranked sixth in the nation in beachwater quality in a study released yesterday by the Natural Resources Defense Council.

The report — Testing the Waters: A Guide to Water Quality at Vacation Beaches — used data from water samples taken by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.
Hawaii’s samples came from Ala Moana Beach Park, Kuhio Beach, Magic Island Beach Park, the Royal-Moana beach, Sandy Beach and Hanauma Bay on Oahu, Hanalei Beach, Poipu Beach and Salt Pond Beach Park on Kauai, and Wailea Beach on Maui.
The report said 2 percent of Hawaii’s samples exceeded national standards.
It said 99 percent of Hawaii beachwater pollution resulted from stormwater runoff and 1 percent from sewage.
Delaware was rated No. 1 in the study, with 100 percent of its beachwater pollution coming from stormwaters and 1 percent of its samples exceeding national standards.
New Hampshire was second, Virginia third, Alaska fourth and North Carolina fifth.
The report shows a 10 percent decrease in pollution-caused closing or advisory days at the nation’s beaches last year compared to 2007 but indicates pollution remains a serious problem.
“Pollution from dirty stormwater runoff and sewage overflows continues to make its way to our beaches. This not only makes swimmers sick – it hurts coastal economies,” said Nancy Stoner, NRDC Water Program Co-Director.
The NRDC says that there were 20,341 days in which ocean, bay and Great Lakes beaches were closed or the subject of health advisories. While that was down from 2007, it was the fourth consecutive year in which closures topped 20,000 days.
Rain plays a big role in flushing pollutants into the oceans, but last year it was relatively dry in California, Hawaii and from Delaware to the southeastern states and the Gulf of Mexico.
The NRDC also says some of the overall decline was due to decreased funding for monitoring.
Wetter than usual conditions increased closings and advisories in the Great Lakes, New England and the New York-New Jersey region.
For the first time, Testing the Waters explored the effects of climate change on beachwater quality.
The report says climate change is expected to make pollution worse. The combined effects of more frequent and intense rainstorms and temperature increases will lead to increased stormwater runoff, combined sewer overflows and pathogens in nearby waterways.
In particular, climate change is anticipated to affect the presence of microbes that cause stomach flu, diarrhea, skin rashes and neurological and blood infections in America's beachwater, according to the report.
The complete report can be found at:
www.nrdc.org/