Coastal Issues | Water Quality | A Closer Look
In Depth: A Closer Look
Nonpoint point source pollution has many impacts including recreational, economic, and habitat losses.
A recent report from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration provides a comprehensive assessment of estuarine eutrophication, or nutrient pollution, that clearly incidates linkages between upstream activities and coastal ecosystem health. The report shows that the majority of U.S. estuaries assessed are highly influenced by human-related activities and points out that eutrophication is a widespread problem globally.
Beach Closings and Loss in Revenue for Coastal Tourism
During 2006, nearly 30,000 days of closings and advisories were reported for the U.S. coasts, Great Lakes, bays and freshwater beaches. There were 73 extended closings and advisories lasting 7-13 consecutive weeks, and 69 permanent ones which exceeded 13 weeks. (Natural Resources Defense Council, 2007).
Where the cause of closings and the source of pollution were identified, polluted runoff accounted for 40 percent of closings and advisories accounting for more then 10,000 days of closings/advisories, plus 1 extended and 3 permanent closures (Natural Resources Defense Council, 2007).
Fisheries/Shellfish Bed Closures and Loss for Commercial and Recreational Fishers
The most recent comprehensive survey of shellfish waters in the United States completed in 1995 found that 3.5 billion acres, or nearly one in every seven acres of classified shellfish beds, were not approved for harvest due to poor water quality. For 14 of the 21 coastal states included in the 1995 National Shellfish Register, more than 95 percent of the areas closed to shellfishing were impaired by nonpoint sources (NOAA, 1996).
Runoff contaminated with bacteria from pet wastes, septic tanks, and other sources causes shellfish bed and beach closures.
Destroyed Habitat: Loss in Fish Spawning Areas and Impacts on Valuable Coastal Species
Nutrient pollution in the Gulf of Mexico has created a low-oxygen "Dead Zone" across a portion of the Gulf during the summer months. The Dead Zone, which has reached the size of New Jersey, is an area with insufficient oxygen to support fish and many other marine organisms, including shrimp—an important economic revenue source in the Gulf. As a result, fish and shrimp catches from bottom trawls within the Dead Zone have been significantly reduced (Pew Oceans Commission, 2001).