However, toxic bacteria – including the flesh-eating kind – keeping swimmers out of the water is nothing new. Contaminations have shuttered beaches for decades and The Weather Channel reported Saturday that summer weather and rainfall can lower salinity in bodies of water and make them more hospitable to bacteria. Pollution, climate change and other factors can alter the water around U.S. beaches. The presence of harmful bacteria in beach waters has both medical and economic consequences. In a 2013 report, the agency discovered that more than 80% of beach closings were due to bacteria levels.

Source: Fox News July 27, 2021 19:07 UTC