Oceans, Lakes & Rivers

CDC’s Healthy Swimming web site is heavily focused on swimming in chlorinated and disinfected swimming venues. Below you will find useful information from the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and other groups that is focused on natural bodies of water like oceans, lakes, and rivers. Please remember that the Six Steps for prevention of recreational water illnesses (RWIs) apply equally to swimming at the lake as they do at the pool.

Checking Water Quality at the Beach

State Beach Bacterial Monitoring Program Information

This site posts recent beach monitoring information for coastal and Great Lakes states. Visit this site to find out if selected beaches are open for swimming based on recent bacterial testing results.

Local Beach Information

Check out whether your local beach is monitoring bacterial levels and whether the water is open (information available from EPA and is only for U.S. coastal/marine and Great Lakes beaches).

Beach Watch

EPA's homepage for their beach protection activities includes beach reports, references, action plans, upcoming meetings, and frequently asked questions.

Prevention

Before You Go to the Beach (EPA brochure) (PDF, 75 kb, 2 pages)

Since many factors affect the water quality at the beach, it is important for you to know about the environmental conditions that affect water quality. This brochure tells you what you need to know about beach water pollution, the health risks associated with swimming in polluted water, and who to contact if you think the water at the beach is contaminated.