EPA Greenversations Question: Beach Water quality...

As the EPA Greenversatoin continues to post good environmental quesions, here is this weeks:

http://blog.epa.gov/blog/2009/08/17/qotw-beach-water/

and your hosts comment:

Water use and quality are truly a great concern. Living in a beach vacation destination, it is noticeable that the water is not the same as when I first moved here in 1996. Odors have increased and pollution has gotten much worse. The Miami Dade County Department of Environmental Management (DERM) is organizing a yearly Baynanza, cleanup of the bay. This year my wife and I filled over 15 bags within less than 3 hours. Mostly with Styrofoam cups and chip bags… this pollution does not just come from water users, but also from debris littered on land that is swept in the water.

With the current trend, the appeal to be at the beach and actually go into the water is strongly diminished here in Miami.
The last beach traveled to was Punta Cana, Dominican Republic. The first signs noted above were certainly visible, but the water was softer and cleaner. This maybe partly due to the location of the club we stayed at and a very strong current at its beach.

Interesting to note the initial reactions about tab drinking water. Being German and still going back frequently, drinking, and cooking with, tap water is quite normal and good. I would not consider it here or at any of the recent vacation spots. Besides questions about contamination, the scent and taste is quite bad…it still transpires in ice cubes used.

We need to pay attention to this source of water, as using plastic bottles is not sustainable, in any sense of the word. The bottles itself cause a huge problem, so does the water that has been sitting in them through varying levels of heat and thus absorbing chemicals that we than intake with our “clean” water…

Good filters are a good start and maybe the vacation industry will lead the way here . Once we tate nice clean and fresh tap water on the road, we want to have the same in our house and bring it home.

Village Green Man