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Fecal bacteria found in water of Alabama beaches

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A nonpartisan organization said many of Alabama's beaches need to be cleaned up.

Environment America released a report concerning dangerous pollution at beaches across the United States. In Alabama, 21 of 25 beach sites sampled were potentially unsafe for at least one day in 2018.

"What we found is that across the country, more than half of the beach sites that were tested last year for fecal bateria, i.e. some indicator of poop, exceeded EPA's precautionary level, indicating that people could be at risk of getting sick from swimming," said John Rumpler, the clean water program director for Environment America.

According to the report, a sampling site at Fairhope Public Beach in Baldwin County was potentially unsafe for 21 days.

This contamination issue falls under the purview of the Clean Water State Revolving Fund. It will soon be revisited by the House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure in Washington D.C. Rumpler urged Alabamians to contact their representative on the committee, Gary Palmer of Alabama's Sixth District.

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