Fecal Bacteria Levels Make Cameron Parish Beaches Louisiana’s Least Safe

Lafayette, Louisiana (KPEL) - Summertime in Louisiana means hitting the beaches.

According to the Louisiana Department of Health, Louisiana is home to 23 public beaches.

Louisiana's beaches are monitored on a weekly basis for water quality and bacteria.

The Environment America Research and Policy Center found that at 10 of Louisiana's beaches, the water was found to be "potentially unsafe most often" at the testing sites.

Of the 10 sites testing positive for fecal bacteria, 8 were in Cameron Parish.

Are Louisiana's Beaches Safe?

Beaches are monitored for bacteria using a combination of water sampling, lab testing, and real-time monitoring tools to ensure public safety.

According to lailluminator.com, almost "two-thirds of Louisiana beaches tested positive for harmful levels of fecal bacteria" in 2024.

The Environment America Research and Policy Center tests waters on a daily basis for bacteria levels for 28 to 30 days.

READ MORE: 7 Secret Beaches and Swimming Holes in Louisiana

Bacterial water pollution can happen due to numerous reasons.

The pollution can happen due to sewage overflow, leaking sewerage systems, run off from farmland containing livestock, increased residential and commercial development, disappearing wetland, and other factors.

All of these things get absorbed by the ground, and eventually finds its way into the Gulf.

From lailluminator.com -

The worst testing results in Louisiana were at Rutherford Beach, where the Mermentau River empties into the Gulf of Mexico in Cameron Parish. Its water was found to be potentially unsafe on 19 of the 28 days tested last year.

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Fecal bacteria levels were also found to be high at Martin Beach in Cameron Parish and at five separate sections of Holly Beach.

North Beach in Lake Charles was found to have unsafe levels of fecal bacteria on 19 of the 30 days sampled.

At Fontainebleau State Park, poor water quality and bacteria was found on 12 out of the 29 days tested.

READ MORE: Fantastic Under-the-Radar Louisiana Beaches and State Parks

Louisiana's wetlands play a big part in filtering out fecal bacteria and other pathogens seeping into the Gulf, but as wetlands continue to disappear, the problem will continue to worsen unless other measures are taken.

From lailluminator.com -

The Environment America Research and Policy Center is calling for a deeper commitment to improving water infrastructure as well as protecting wetlands, reworking the way farms handle livestock manure and expanding testing for harmful bacteria at beaches.

There are several websites available that allow you to monitor bacteria levels at Louisiana's beaches such as epa.gov and ldh.la.gov.

Read more at lailluminator.com.