San Mateo County's Dirty Beaches Mirror National Trend

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REDWOOD CITY -- "Bacteria from decomposing rubbish, storm runoff and sewage found its way into San Mateo County's Bay and coastal waters more often last year, triggering a sharp increase in the number of health warnings and mirroring what appears to be a nationwide trend.

While there were fewer actual beach closures than last year, San Mateo County issued 167 advisories about unsafe bacteria levels at local beaches and popular Bay-front areas, a 24 percent increase from 2002.

Dean Peterson, director of the county's Environmental Health Services Agency, blamed the spike on an unusually rainy year. "Usually, whenever we see really heavy storm events, we see an elevated level of activity at the beaches," Peterson said. However, the trend appears to be more widespread than just San Mateo County or its local weather system.

According to a report recently released by the National Resources Defense Council, last year set a record for poor water quality, with 18,000 days of beach closures and advisories nationwide -- a 51 percent increase from 2002. The increase could be the result of better and more frequent testing nationwide, the report said. However, according to Peterson, there have been no major changes in frequency of water testing in San Mateo County for many years."

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http://www.examiner.com/article/index.cfm/i/081004n_waterquality