UCI Ocean Study Blames Familiar Suspect: Runoff
Ocean swimmers near densely populated areas are more likely to get sick than those who swim off rural coastlines, a UC Irvine study has found.
The reason: The ocean off populated regions contains more germs because of the amount of untreated urban runoff discharged into the water, according to the study published in the April issue of the American Journal of Public Health.
"These potential health risks warrant greater public health surveillance, as well as greater efforts to reduce pollutants discharged onto public beaches," the study concluded.
Researchers found that over a two-year period, surfers in Newport Beach and Huntington Beach were almost twice as likely to get sick than their counterparts in Santa Cruz County, about 400 miles north.
Surfers in both regions reported that their symptoms increased about 10% for each 2 1/2 hours in the water, the study found.
"It means the more you are exposed, the more likely to see an effect, and it gives an indication that the water quality is what's causing it," said Ryan H. Dwight, who conducted the study as part of his dissertation in environmental health science and policy.
The illnesses, which seldom required a hospital visit, included fever, nausea, stomach disorders, sore throats and skin infections.
Orange County surfers and coastal environmentalists said the study confirmed what they'd long known -- that spending time in the ocean can cause illness.
"There's a whole lot of concern now that people who recreate in the water are exposed to a whole teeming soup of harmful pathogens," said Matt McClain, communications director for the Surfrider Foundation in San Clemente.
Scott Morlan, coach of the Newport Harbor High School surf team, said the study confirmed what he had assumed to be the case when his students called in sick.
"I couldn't pin it on the ocean, but you have your suspicions," he said.
Urban runoff, which includes water from rainfall, landscaping, car washing and similar sources, flows through storm drains, picking up detritus including animal waste, and is channeled to the ocean.
Huntington Beach has been especially hit by beach closures triggered by poor water quality, including in the summer of 1999, when miles of shoreline were off-limits to beachgoers during the peak of tourist season.
