Considering that Bayside is located just 4-miles from the beautiful beaches of the Atlantic Ocean in Fenwick Island, Delaware, there’s more great news about our wonderful Delaware beaches and pristine coastline.
According to an annual report released Wednesday by the Natural Resources Defense Council, the Bay and coastal beaches in Maryland and Delaware ranked among the cleanest in the nation. Delaware beaches rank second in the nation for having the cleanest beach water. The council analyzed 2009 government data on water quality at more than 3,000 beaches nationwide in its annual report, “Testing the Waters: A Guide to Water Quality at Vacation Beaches.”
Two Delaware beaches — Cape Henlopen State Park and Rehoboth Beach — earned four stars in the report’s five-star rating guide for 200 of the most popular U.S. beaches. Maryland’s Ocean City at Beach 6 also earned four stars, while none of New Jersey’s beaches earned more than three stars. Ratings are based on water quality, monitoring frequency and public notification of contamination. Only two percent of samples across 25 of the state’s beaches exceeded the national health standard for contamination.
Delmarva-area beaches ranked among the cleanest in the nation, with 278 closing and advisory days. In Delaware, there were 94 closing and advisory days in 2009, up from 11 in 2008. Nearly all of those closings and advisories were caused by storm water runoff pollution.
The report ranked New Hampshire first in the nation for cleanest beach water.
Original article by Nicole Gaudiano, News Journal Washington Bureau, July 28, 2010
