Oh, CRAP!

Here’s the Scoop: Keep Pet Waste Off R.I. Beaches

By AMIE PARRIS and LAUREN RUSSO/special to ecoRI News 

We all love our pets. They are our best friends and favorite companions; however, what they leave behind can be harmful to our health and the environment. The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has identified pet waste as a pollutant and has included it as part of the National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System.

Pet waste is 57 percent more toxic than human waste, according to the EPA, and can harbor bacteria and parasites that cause illness in humans. Diseases spread by pet waste include campylobacteriosis, giardiasis, salmonellosis and toxoca­riasis. All of these illnesses can cause nausea, vomiting and diarrhea. Some of the other symptoms may include fever, rash and/or headache.

Children who are playing in beach sand can come in contact with pet waste and then put their unwashed hands in their mouth. In addition, rainwater or the tides can carry and spread pet-waste bacteria into swimming waters. In both of these cases, pet waste can make people sick. Just two or three days’ worth of waste from 100 dogs can contribute enough bacteria to temporarily close a large area to swimming or shell fishing.

Pet waste also contains high levels of nitrogen and phosphorus, and can cause an increase in algae growth — algal blooms — in Narragansett Bay. When bacteria decomposes algal blooms, they require oxygen from the water. During decomposition, the water’s oxygen supply is used by bacteria instead of by animals.

When pet waste is thrown in storm drains, the runoff from streets to these drains washes the waste right into the bay and ocean.

In 2011, the state Department of Health’s Beach Program partnered with the University of Rhode Island Undergraduate Research Initiative to investigate the extent of pet waste at Ocean State beaches. Data was collected from beach managers, the public and from water-quality analysts. In addition, URI students visited saltwater beaches throughout the state and evaluated each for pet use, visible pet waste, visitors’ perspectives and opinions regarding pets at the beach.

If pet waste was observed on a beach, water samples were collected and analyzed for the presence of E. coli bacteria — one in five of the beaches where pet waste was observed had elevated levels of E. coli bacteria. Results from the study were utilized in educational outreach materials that stress the importance of cleaning up after pets.

Regulations regarding pet use at beaches vary by facility management, according to the study/survey. Many Rhode Island beaches allow pets year-round while some have restrictions based on seasons or times of the day.

More than 100 people were polled at beaches throughout the state during the investigation. The results of the survey included:

82 percent of respondents said pet waste on the beach is a problem.
23 percent had seen or come across pet waste on the beach.
74 percent said pet waste on public beaches should be better regulated.
Less than half of the respondents knew the regulations regarding dog use at the beach they were visiting.

In Rhode Island, there are some 255,000 dogs that produce about 70 million pounds of waste annually. If you are visiting a beach in Rhode Island with a four-legged friend:

Know and follow the rules of every beach and public area that you visit.
No dogs allowed on state beaches from April 1 to Sept. 30.
Ordinances and potential fines vary by municipality, but rules are generally posted at each city/town beach.
Dispose of pet waste in a proper disposal receptacle.
Don’t throw pet waste near or in storm drains.

Amie Parris and Lauren Russo are with the state Department of Health’s Beach Program. This article originally was published in the Winter 2011 Narragansett Bay Journal.