Rhode Island on Pace to Have Most Beach Closures in Past Ten Years
Thursday, August 08, 2019
Beach closures have hit Rhode Island hard this summer. And, if the July pace continues, Rhode Island will have the most closures in the state in ten years.
“There have been 105 beach closure days to date in 2019, compared to 135 in all of last year,” said Joseph Wendelken, the Public Information Officer at the Rhode Island Department of Health.
“Since late July, a series of beach closures has discouraged beachgoers, visitors and residents across Rhode Island. Intermittent rainfall has contributed to periodic spikes in bacteria counts at some of the state's most popular destinations—from Narragansett all the way to Barrington—reminding us that there is plenty of work to be done to ensure a swimmable, fishable, healthy Narragansett Bay,” said Save the Bay in a statement.
GET THE LATEST BREAKING NEWS HERE -- SIGN UP FOR GOLOCAL FREE DAILY EBLASTThis year’s trend is concerning. There has been little rain, but many closures. In 2010, there were 149 days of beach closures.
“Historically, beach closures in Rhode Island have been closely tied to precipitation. Stormwater runoff from roads, parking lots, and other impervious surfaces transports contamination (including bacteria) to our fresh and salt-water bodies,” said the RI Department of Health
“People can contract some illnesses simply by getting polluted water on their skin or in their eyes and nose. In a few cases, swimmers develop infections when an open wound is exposed to polluted water. These usually require little or no treatment and have no long-term health effects, but should be treated as soon as they arise. In very polluted water, however, swimmers can be exposed to more serious diseases like dysentery, hepatitis A, cholera, and typhoid fever,” according to Woods Hole Oceanographic Institute
“Those with frequent exposure to water (such as surfers and divers), are most likely to get sick. Children, the elderly, people with weakened immune systems are most at risk of severe illness or of suffering complications from a wide range of illnesses contracted by exposure to water by any of a number of pathogens,” says Woods Hole.
One Woman's Life Impacted
Last week, GoLocal wrote about a North Providence resident said she was told she contracted cellulitis -- a bacterial skin infection -- after swimming at Rhode Island beaches.
Now, Donna Pezza is warning others, and looking for answers, after the state has closed, and re-opened, multiple beaches throughout the state over previous two weeks.
"I am in such pain -- I can't even move my neck," Pezza told GoLocalProv.com -- but said she "couldn't pinpoint" which beach might have caused it.
Last Wednesday, Donna Pezza took to Facebook to write the following.
"I just came home from the hospital — I got Cellulitis bacteria infection from the dirty ocean here in R.I. Please stay out of the ocean…it is full of bacteria which can cause this or vomiting and diarrhea or even skin rash…R.I. Department of Recreation is not reporting what could happen to you and they should stop people from any swimming at all beaches until all is 100% clean."
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