Report shows fecal indicator bacteria found at 92% of Ohio beaches tested in 2024

COLUMBUS, Ohio (WCMH) – A recent report analyzing water pollution across the country found that a large majority of Ohio beaches tested in 2024 showed potentially unsafe levels of fecal contamination.

Environment America, a nonprofit advocacy organization, released a report titled “Safe for Swimming?” in July, which compiled 2024 water quality testing data from beaches across the country.

The analysis included locations listed under the BEACH Act of 2000, a federal statute that set standards for recreational water testing. Each year, states bordering the Great Lakes and oceans are required to submit water quality data to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) under the law. 

Researchers obtained water testing data for the 76 beaches where Ohio is required to submit data to the EPA under the BEACH Act, all of which are located along the Lake Erie shoreline. 

The report found that 70, or 92%, of the beaches tested in the state had potentially unsafe levels of fecal indicator bacteria on at least one testing day in 2024. It additionally revealed that 27 of the beaches, or 36%, showed potentially unsafe levels on at least 25% of all days tested. 

“I don't think we want to be swimming in water with nasty bacteria and pathogen risks,” said  John Rumpler, a co-author of the report and clean water director for Environment America. “This is not the experience that Ohio families want when they go to the beach.”

Fecal indicator bacteria are microorganisms found in the intestines of warm-blooded animals, including humans, that are used to detect fecal contamination in water. The report considered water samples “potentially unsafe” if they exceeded the EPA’s “Beach Action Value” threshold, which triggers public health advisories and indicates an estimated illness rate of 32 people per 1,000 swimmers. 

The Ohio beach with the most potentially unsafe days for swimming last year was Villa Angela State Park in Cuyahoga County, recording 42 potentially unsafe days out of 121 testing days. 

Lakeview Beach in Lorain County ranked next, seeing 37 potentially unsafe days out of 58 testing days, and was followed by Euclid State Park in Cuyahoga County (34 potentially unsafe days out of 121 testing days).

While Rumpler said the data included in the report did not determine the cause of the potentially unsafe bacteria levels at Ohio beaches, general causes of such contamination include sewage overflows, stormwater runoff and factory farms. 

“There are huge factory farms that are in the Lake Erie watershed and animal manure is flowing off of those industrial scale livestock operations into Lake Erie,” Rumpler said. 

Nationwide, 1,930 out of 3,187 tested beaches (61%) experienced at least one day of potentially unsafe levels of fecal indicator bacteria in 2024. Additionally, 453 beaches (15%) had potentially unsafe levels on at least 25% of testing days. 

When asked how Ohio’s water quality fares compared to other states, Rumpler said it is hard to make reliable comparisons due to limitations in the data, including the fact that different beaches are tested at different frequencies.

“The point of our report is not to say that Ohio is better or worse,” Rumpler said. “Our point is to just say that all too often there are health risks at Ohio beaches, and we can do better.” 

Public health experts estimate that there are 57 million instances of illness in the country each year from people swimming in contaminated water, according to Rumpler. These conditions include diarrhea, nausea, vomiting, skin rashes, respiratory illness and ear infections.

Cleveland organizations have been working toward healthier waterways, through initiatives such as the Northeast Ohio Regional Sewer District’s Project Clean Lake. The program aims to reduce pollution in Lake Erie through the improvement of water treatment plants and local infrastructure. 

“We have seen a reduction, not an elimination, but a reduction in sewage overflows from the Greater Cleveland area and that is progress to celebrate and build on,” Rumpler said. “Many other Ohio communities are looking to invest in fixing their stormwater pollution, their runoff pollution, their sewage system, but all of those projects take money.” 

In order to help remedy unsafe bacteria levels in waterways, the EPA estimates states across the country will need a total of $630 billion to address wastewater, sewage and stormwater runoff issues over a 20-year period. 

Rumpler said that last week, the U.S. House Appropriations Committee “unfortunately” approved a 26% cut to the Clean Water State Revolving Fund, a federal initiative that provides low-interest loans for water quality infrastructure projects. 

“Unless Congress steps it up with more resources, we're going to see more unsafe conditions at Ohio beaches in years to come,” Rumpler said. 

NBC4 reached out to the Ohio Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), Ohio Department of Health (ODH) and Ohio Department of Natural Resources (ODNR) for comment on the report. 

The Ohio EPA did not provide a comment. The ODH did not directly address the report but said the department is “concerned with protecting the health and safety of Ohioans” and therefore runs a “Beach Guard” page on its website, which includes a searchable map of beach advisories due to unhealthy water conditions. The webpage also allows users to see a beach’s history of advisories and water sampling results. 

The ODNR said in part: “Beach advisories are not uncommon across the nation and are most often due to our native waterfowl, such as Canada geese, congregating on beaches and leaving behind their droppings which may contribute to elevated levels of bacteria in the water.”

The report also lists animal waste from wildlife as one of many causes of pathogens at beaches throughout the country. 

The natural resources agency recommended state park visitors check the Ohio Beach Guard website for advisories before swimming. A yellow flag advisory urges children, the elderly and those who have weakened immune systems not to swim, and a red flag recommends all people and pets to avoid the water.