Lake Co. beach makes pollution “repeat offender” list

A Lake County attraction has landed on a nonprofit environmental group's list of the most persistently contaminated beaches.

The North Beach at the North Point Marina in Winthrop Harbor was identified as a “Top 10 Repeat Offender” by the National Resources Defense Council.

The list was part of the group's annual beach water quality report, which was released Wednesday.

The group — dedicated to protecting public health and the environment — consists of scientists, lawyers, environmental specialists and activists. It analyzed government data on beach water testing results at more than 3,000 locations nationwide.

The North Point Marina's beach was the only Illinois beach on the “Repeat Offenders” list. The other beaches identified are in California, Florida, New Jersey, Ohio, Texas and Wisconsin.

The beaches made the list for having persistent contamination problems, with water samples exceeding public health standards more than 25 percent of the time between 2006 and 2010, according to a news release.

According to the report, 49 percent of the samples taken at North Beach in 2010 exceeded health standards.

Illinois was listed 26th in beach water quality for 2010. In addition to North Beach, sites in Winnetka, Evanston, and Chicago were noted for contamination in 2010, as were beaches at the Geo-Karis Illinois Beach State Park near Zion and the Great Lakes Naval Training Center near North Chicago.

The Great Lakes region had the most frequently contaminated beach water in 2010, according to the group. Fifteen percent of samples exceeded public health standards, according to the report.

The report also awarded “Superstar” status to four of the nations cleanest beaches. Those sites are Minnesota, Delaware and New Hampshire.

The full report can be found online at nrdc.org/water/oceans/ttw/ttw2011.pdf.