Beaches to Avoid This July 4th

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Avalon Beach: I'll stay on the sand, thank you.<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/migulski/3427096431/sizes/m/in/photostream/">Bogdan Migulski</a>/Flickr

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Angelenos beware: If you plan to spend your Independence Day soaking up rays on the beach, it might be wise to stay out of the water.

That’s according to the Natural Resources Defense Council’s 21st annual report on beach water quality, which reveals the nation’s dirtiest lake and seaside beaches. Southern California snagged the most spots on a list of “repeat offenders,” where contamination—mostly from human and animal waste in storm runoff—exceeded national standards at least a quarter of the time over the last four years.

Overall, 2010 saw the second-highest number of beach closures and health advisories in the past two decades. Beaches were scored based not only on water quality, but also on how accessible local officials made that information to the public.

NRDC officials cited everything from the stomach flu and pink eye to dysentery and hepatitis as illnesses that can strike swimmers, adding that animal waste can exacerbate algal blooms that have health consequences for marine life. And you thought the local water park was bad.

“A day at the beach shouldn’t have to come with a skin rash as a souvenir,” NRDC water expert David Beckman said.

And the most consistently dirty beaches are (drum roll, please):

California: Avalon Beach in Los Angeles County
California: Cabrillo Beach in Los Angeles County
California: Doheny State Beach in Orange County
Florida: Keaton Beach in Taylor County
Illinois: North Point Marina, North Beach in Lake County
New Jersey: Beachwood Beach West in Ocean County
Ohio: Villa Angela State Park in Cuyahoga County (also home of the famously flammable Cuyahoga River)
Texas: Ropes Park in Nueces County
Wisconsin: Eichelman Beach in Kenosha County
Wisconsin: South Shore Beach in Milwaukee

But there’s still hope for a dysentery-free holiday weekend. Also released was a (shorter) list of “superstar” beaches, where water testing has been perfectly clean for the last three years:

Delaware: Rehoboth Beach in Sussex County
Delaware: Dewey Beach in Sussex County
Minnesota: Park Point Lafayette Community Club Beach in St. Louis County
New Hampshire: Hampton Beach State Park in Rockingham County

And if the report doesn’t list your local beach, NRDC attorney Jon Devine urges folks to use common sense: “If the water looks or smells funny, don’t go in.”