A recent Environment America report found that 61% of U.S. beaches recorded at least one day of unsafe bacterial levels last year.
Millions of Americans heading to the shore for the holiday weekend are encountering warning signs instead of waves.
From New England to California, public health officials have flagged dozens of beaches for high levels of fecal bacteria, urging swimmers to stay out of the water.
The advisories, affecting coastal stretches in Massachusetts, New York, California and even Hawaii, cite unsafe concentrations of E. coli and enterococci, bacteria linked to sewage and storm runoff. Exposure can cause stomach illness, skin rashes and ear infections, officials warn.
The problem is not new.
A recent Environment America report found that 61% of U.
