How Clean is Your Beach?
Looking for the best beaches to help beat the summer heat? Well, if water quality's key, California's Orange County might offer the best options.
The Natural Resources Defense Council released the results of its annual water quality survey, "Testing the Waters 2010" which measured the most popular beaches around the country by five key criteria.
Most of the beaches that scored well across the board can be found in Orange County, including six different stretches of Laguna Beach. Overall, 11 stretches of beach in the county got stellar marks.
But some other areas perhaps not known for their pristine shorelines also fared well. Two stretches of Minnesota' s Park Point Beach rated as five-star beaches. So did New Hampshire's Hampton Beach State Park and Wallis Sands Beach as well as Alabama's Baldwin Beach.
Find out how your favorite beach rates!
The NRDC rated beaches according to the following criteria: Water quality in 2009 (beaches got stars if fewer than 5 percent of samples exceeded national health standards for bacteria); water quality for the last three years; water quality testing frequency; promptness when issuing health advisories; and posting health advisories both online and at the beach.
Copyright 2010 CBS. All rights reserved. The Natural Resources Defense Council released the results of its annual water quality survey, "Testing the Waters 2010" which measured the most popular beaches around the country by five key criteria.
Most of the beaches that scored well across the board can be found in Orange County, including six different stretches of Laguna Beach. Overall, 11 stretches of beach in the county got stellar marks.
But some other areas perhaps not known for their pristine shorelines also fared well. Two stretches of Minnesota' s Park Point Beach rated as five-star beaches. So did New Hampshire's Hampton Beach State Park and Wallis Sands Beach as well as Alabama's Baldwin Beach.
Find out how your favorite beach rates!
The NRDC rated beaches according to the following criteria: Water quality in 2009 (beaches got stars if fewer than 5 percent of samples exceeded national health standards for bacteria); water quality for the last three years; water quality testing frequency; promptness when issuing health advisories; and posting health advisories both online and at the beach.
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- Must be referring to just the continental U.S. Here in Kauai HI, the beaches are ALWAYS clean! The people here make a concentrated effort to get together once in a while and clean the beaches. Oh, and the water temperatures? Almost always in the 70's ... perfect for swimming, snorkeling, surfing and just about any kind of water sport you can think of.
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- maybe weal find out more at digg.com
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- This article was a disappointment. I was expecting it to rate which beaches had most or least tar from the oil spill.
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- It must be great swimming in the 60 degree waters of California? Florida has the beeches of the world with perfect water temperatures on the Atlantic. Gulf waters get to hot to swim in in peak summer months like right now. posted by baileyccc
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