There’s more to do on water pollution

News reports on recurring beach closings show that fixing sewer lines and treatment plants, and banning boat-sewage dumping in Long Island Sound, have not ended water pollution problems. We still have a ways to go regarding solutions, some of which can simply involve individual actions.

According to those reports, many of the swimming areas in Connecticut are well maintained and attractive, no doubt enticing thousands of people to swim or simply dangle their feet in cool water on these hot days. However, a good rainstorm - and we’ve had a few in recent weeks - too often forces authorities to close beaches because of the contamination carried into the Sound or lakes by the runoff. Potential health problems arise from pollution by feces from animals, both wild and domestic, and contaminants from yards, parking lots, highways and farms.

Among the relevant data, 65 of 144 beaches on the Connecticut shore that report water-testing results to the state were closed for at least one day in 2007.

And during one recent year:

* Cove Island Beach, West Beach and Quigley Beach in Stamford were closed for five days because of rain-caused pollution.

* Greenwich recorded 12 closings for Byram Beach, plus six for Greenwich Point and a couple for its island beaches.

* In Norwalk, Bell Island Beach, Calf Pasture Beach, Hickory Bluff Beach, Marvin Beach, Rowayton Beach and Shady Beach were closed for three separate three-day periods.

Byram Beach long has been recognized as a pollution hot spot, and is now closed following heavy rainfall without even being tested, it was reported.

Goose and other wild animal droppings are one source for bacterial contamination. But so are pet droppings left in gutters and on other paved areas - even in grassy spots. Also worth considering is whether we toss food remains or other litter onto the ground to be carried away in a rainstorm, or unthinkingly dump water from some dirty cleaning chore into catch basins. It all can enter storm drainage systems that run into the Sound or another body of water. Contaminated runoff is all the more likely given the extensive areas of our environment that have been paved over.

Other contamination might not close a beach, but can affect water quality, such as runoff containing lawn and garden chemicals used to excess, and motor vehicle fluids that leak or are not disposed of properly.

Obviously, there are things in our daily lives that we can do - and not do - to reduce water pollution.

We can also look for emerging ways to help prevent rainwater from washing contaminants into our beach areas. Norwalk, for example, has tried out catch-basin filters that have been very successful at relatively modest costs. Bottles, food wrappers, syringes, contaminated grit, animal feces, automotive lubricants and many other harmful materials have been trapped by the filters, officials have reported, and they also are effective in removing bacteria.

Certainly, the pollution sources we have been discussing here do not have the magnitude of pipes spilling raw sewage or old treatment plants pumping out smelly and incompletely processed effluent. Such secondary sources also may not be as obvious a problem as sewage.

But pollution that continues to close our beaches shows that we need to do more to improve our shore environments.

And we can.

 

The Advocate