Swimming Beaches in Puget Sound get a failing grade

In 2011, one quarter of the beaches monitored around Puget Sound were found to be unsafe for swimming because they failed to meet water quality standards. Since monitoring water quality at popular recreation beaches began in 2004, the number of unsafe beaches has increased by 12 percent.

The Puget Sound Partnership just released their 2012 State of the Sound report. In the report, swimming Beaches is just one of many indicators that suggests Puget Sound is imperiled and not improving. However, the report is not all bad news - over one thousand shellfish beds have been reopened to harvest and over two thousand acres of habitat have been restored. For more details, read the press release.