The New York Times video above explains that Newport, Rhode Island beaches become contaminated with human feces whenever it rains. Signs posted on the beaches warn of bacterial contamination after rainfall.

The problem in Newport – and in many other cities such as Boston, Chicago, and New York – is the outdated sewer systems become overwhelmed by storm water. Whenever it rains, sewage spills out.

In 2009 alone, the city of Newport flushed 70 million gallons of sewage into the harbor.

Nearly 40 years after the passage of the Clean Water Act, these water quality problems persist. The Newport waste water treatment plant has been illegally polluting the waterways since the Clean Water Act passed in 1972, yet they have never been fined by the EPA.

In the last 3 years, 9,400 of our country’s 25,000 sewage systems have dumped human waste or other hazardous materials into our waterways. But only 1 in 5 plants that break the law are ever fined.

Your water quality is in your hands. Avoid bacterial contamination with home water filters.

This entry was posted on Tuesday, December 22nd, 2009 at 5:18 pm and is filed under Microbial Contamination. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.