Hawaii Ranks 7th When It Comes to Clean Beaches

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Hawaii ranks seventh in beachwater quality out of 30 states, according to a study released Tuesday by the Natural Resources Defense Council. 

Surprisingly, Kauai had some of the state’s most polluted beaches. 

As far as exceeding the state’s bacterial limits, here is what NRDC found: (emphasis added) 

The beaches with the highest percent exceedance rates of the state standard in 2011 were Hanalei Beach Park (22%), Kalihiwai Bay (20%), and Ke’e Beach (18%) in Kauai County; Honoli’i Beach Park (16%) and Pelekane Bay (13%) in Hawaii County; and Nawiliwili Harbor (13%) and Lumaha’i Beach in Kauai County (13%). Beaches in Kauai County had the highest exceedance rate of the state standard in 2011 (9%), followed by Hawaii (4%), Honolulu (2%), and Maui (2%) counties. 

Read more about Hawaii in the report here.

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