N.C. tops list of clean American beaches

WILMINGTON — North Carolina tops the list of states with the cleanest beaches in America.

The North Carolina Department of Environmental and Natural Resources samples the water quality at every beach in the state on a regular basis between April and October.

The amount of bacteria found in the water is then measured against a set standard. How did beaches in our area do?

None of the beaches in Pender County had higher than normal bacteria levels.

Brunswick county beaches scored well.

The only areas to exceed bacteria levels were the Intracoastal Waterway, which tested above the set standard 10 percent of the time: South Beach, Ocean Pier and Caswell Beach.

New Hanover County beaches were clean overall. The only area to score lower than expected was the Banks Channel area, which had higher-than normal bacteria levels 13 percent of the time. As a result, various sections of that beach were under an advisory during last year’s swimming season.