The highly regarded Smithsonian Magazine has now teamed up with the Natural Resources Defense Council in rating the quality of all beaches across America. The NRDC tests beaches ongoing to determine if high levels of bacteria exist in the beach water on the beachfront. On the map below: Green means good and “go”. Myrtle Beach Currently ranks YELLOW – Cautionary on 10% of its beaches.
The “KNOW BEFORE YOU GO” PROGRAM HAS NOW BEEN ESTABLISHED by the NRDC to help alert families of ongoing hazards. For the past 24 years, the NRDC has compiled an annual report about beach water pollution. This year, the group looked at 116,230 samples at 3,485 beaches and beach segments. These samples come from beach officials, which the EPA gathers and records in a central database.
Want to see how your favorite vacation destination stacks up? NRDC has teamed up with Newsweek to create the below handy, searchable map, to help you figure out whether the beach your family plans to visit is contaminated or safe. Check before heading out—your favorite beach might be contaminated, but another beach only a few miles away might be perfectly safe. NRDC also has a fully mapped version of the report on their website.
SEE HOW MYRTLE BEACH CURRENTLY RANKS. Any area with a yellow or red dot is considered at risk. Green means good. As the map shows, Myrtle Beach ocean water quality is currently rated yellow.
Click on this map to visit the Myrtle Beach ratings directly on the NRDC website.
On the map above, any area currently coded YELLOW and RED are considered an above acceptable level.
MyrtleBeachSC.com has previously reported on how Myrtle Beach is working to get within the green shade of the EPA and NRDC