Manhattan, New York (CaymanMama.com) — According to a new environmental study report, several local beaches in New York City have inferior water quality. In fact, poor water advisories and beach closings have jumped 20% since last year. Sarah Chasis of the Natural Resources Defense Council issued a report on Tuesday saying that spending a day at a beach should mean sea surfing and having fun — not sewage and storm water.

Among all beaches in NYC, Orchard Beach in the Bronx is the worst rated beach. The group asserted that even after knowing that the surrounding storm drains frequently dump pollutants around Orchard Beach, city officials failed to point out the possible dangers to the general public.

Angie Mitchell, 30, a regular at Orchard Beach, has said that very often she smells strong odors which is a sure sign of bad water quality. She also added that she never puts her head under the surface of the water. Unlike other beaches, Jones Beach has received high marks. The report attributes the good conditions to its staff, saying that they are more conscientious in issuing municipal advisories about the quality of the water.

Chasis said that the Council does not want to dissuade people from using their beaches but wants the public to be informed about the bad conditions.

During 2007, beach closings and public advisories were issued some 1,547 days statewide.

Nearly half of the alerts were attributed to extreme rainfall, which could cause squall drains to spill over and spread garbage in and around the beaches. It has been revealed in the report that a quarter of the alerts could well be attributed to the high level of bacteria in the water while 18% of it had been linked to spill-over sewage.

This story brought to you by New York City Municipal Liability Attorneys, Sullivan Papain Block McGrath & Cannavo P.C.

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