Poopy beaches? Three-quarters of tested WA shores saw unsafe fecal contamination
AI-generated summary reviewed by our newsroom.
- In 2024, 76% of tested WA beaches showed potentially unsafe fecal bacteria at least once.
- Jack Hyde, Titlow and Squaxin parks ranked high in contamination test days.
- Pollution sources in the nationwide report include sewage, urban runoff and factory farms.
Washingtonians flock to the state’s beaches on sweltering summer days to cool down. But a new report suggests that residents might want to double-check pollution levels before diving in to swim.
About 76% of tested Washington state beaches showed potentially unsafe fecal-contamination levels on at least one testing day last year, according to the findings by Environment America Research and Policy Center.
In addition, 30% of the state’s 63 monitored beaches had possibly unsafe contamination on at least a quarter of all testing days in 2024, according to the July 7 report.
The report’s writers underscore that such pollution can stem from sources such as sewage overflows, urban runoff and factory farms. Resulting pathogens can jeopardize swimmers’ health and prompt beaches to be closed to safeguard the public.
About 61% of tested beaches nationwide experienced at least one day when signs of fecal contamination surpassed the Environmental Protection Agency’s “Beach Action Value.” States can use BAVs as a “conservative precautionary tool” to make choices about beach notifications.
The report notes that contamination could have also occurred on days when monitoring didn’t happen.
Certain other states fared worse than Washington in the report.
In Alabama, for instance, 96% of tested beaches counted potentially unsafe fecal contamination levels at least once last year. All eight of Pennsylvania’s tested beaches indicated the same. Both California and Oregon also ranked higher than Washington in this regard at 79% each.
The state Department of Health’s website explains that illness can be caused by swimming in contaminated saltwater. Washington beaches are watched for fecal bacteria, and the public is alerted when test outcomes are high.
Two beaches in Pierce County were flagged in Environment America’s report for having relatively high percentages of possibly unsafe test days last year: Titlow Park (65%) and Jack Hyde Park (47%).
Five of 14 tested days in Thurston County’s Squaxin Park were deemed potentially unsafe.
In Whatcom County, the Wildcat Cove beach at Larrabee State Park counted 63% potentially unsafe test days. Little Squalicum Park in that county had six of 15 test days fall under that category.
Washington beach monitoring
Heather Gibbs, the Washington State Department of Ecology’s BEACH Program coordinator, said she hasn’t yet had the opportunity to review Environment America’s report. She did say, though, that between Memorial Day and Labor Day every year, the department’s BEACH Program gauges water quality at 50 to 60 saltwater beaches each week around Puget Sound. High results lead to resampling in the same week to root out potential problems.
Often, a single reading might be high because of fleeting issues related to the Sound’s unique marine environment, she said, citing tides and significant current. Subsequent testing frequently indicates lower levels of contamination.
If high levels do stick around, then it triggers further investigation, Gibbs explained in an email.
More than 8 in 10 department-tested Puget Sound beaches last year met swimming standards, the most recent BEACH Annual Report shows.
Washington beach water quality
In addition to neighboring communities, there are scores of likely contamination sources along Puget Sound’s shores, such as raccoons, dogs and geese, Gibbs said.
In one case a few years back, raccoons were the culprit behind high levels of enterococcus bacteria at Larrabee State Park, she said. The department resolved the problem by placing chicken wire over the affected shallow pool of water, which raccoons had been using to wash the food they stole from a nearby campground before defecating.
“We are definitely monitoring as often as we can and following up if we’re seeing high results,” Gibbs said.
So far in 2025, the water quality has been good in general, she added.
“This year, knock on wood, we’ve only had one advisory on our marine beaches,” Gibbs said. “We’ve had a really positive summer so far.”
That advisory, in place since June 18, is at the Jack Hyde Park beach in Tacoma.
Federal funding meant to help monitor beaches in states is at risk, Gibbs warned — including in Washington.
In recent years, Environmental Protection Agency funding for beach-monitoring programs has declined. In addition, “the administration’s proposed FY26 budget would eliminate funding for the program completely,” she said in an email.
Washington’s Ecology Department in this federal fiscal year receives about $270,000 in federal dollars to monitor beaches, Gibbs said. Without that money, some counties might not be able to continue their testing programs, and funding for the statewide coordinator position would be lost.
This story was originally published July 15, 2025 at 8:59 PM with the headline "Poopy beaches? Three-quarters of tested WA shores saw unsafe fecal contamination."
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