Honolulu (KHON2) – According to the Surfrider Foundation’s annual report, they want beach visitors to be aware of what they are involved, Hawaiian beaches are the most polluted Hawaiian beaches in the country, while 13 other beaches often have unsafe bacterial levels.
Kyla Genenbacher comes to the beach to enjoy the weather and goes home with her boyfriend on a date. But she didn’t expect this.
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“This is my first time going to this park and I’m not ready…I’m leaving and it’s like ‘Oh, oh, it’s like a black beach, but I’m like I think we don’t have those here,” Genenbacher said.
The water at Waiahole Beach looks dirty, tests show. This is one of the beaches highlighted in the Surfrider Foundation’s annual water quality report.
The group’s Blue Water Working Group has tested 600 locations nationwide, with 83 locations on Oahu, Maui and Kauai regularly used for enterococci levels. Beaches in Oahu are tested every two weeks, while beaches in Maui and Kauai are tested every month.
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Waiahole was tested unsafely 68% of the time. The nearby Kahaluu Beach was not safe in 92 tests.
“When it rains, it gets washed into the stream,” said Surfrider Foundation Dan Amato of Surfrider Foundation Blue Water Taste Force Forcors Socourtinator. “So we usually recommend not swimming, playing, or having your family reappear in rivers, especially because their stool metrics tend to be high.”
Enterococcus is a fecal bacteria that indicates the presence of human or animal waste from the water upstream. Amato said the feces could come from wild boars, dogs, cats, birds and humans through the sludge.
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“I think it’s disgusting,” Genenbacher said. “I mean, there’s nothing you can do about it, but I definitely don’t want to swim here, and I definitely think people need to know that.”
Kaharu Beach is one of the worst beaches in the country. But the Surfrider Foundation said they found more beaches to attract attention. During the testing period, seven beaches in Oahu were tested for more than 50% above safe bacteria levels.
In a statement, a state health department that oversees water testing in the state said people can subscribe to get water quality consultations and get the latest information on their social media pages.
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“In a grand plan, that’s not enough,” Amato said. “I think the public really needs more awareness. We’re happy to see more signage on these beaches, people are using what we know, what we know will be affected by the long-term effects of the stool indicator bacteria.”
DOH said it is working with county officials to do this. Therefore, everyone who enters the water can make their own decisions.
Genenbacher said: “If you’re going to swim, plan? If I go swimming, plan is to keep driving and find another beach, not this one.
For links to the full report, visit Surfrider’s website.
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