Many times after a heavy rain, beaches and waterways can become infected with bacteria
which result in closures to access. What many people don't know is dog waste has historically
played a very big role in this around heavily populated areas.
Unfortunately, bacteria such as e coli, coliform and zoonotic parasites are very common in
dogs, even in the healthiest and most pampered of canine companions.
On too many occasions, at too many beaches, waterways,
rivers, streams and lakes, dog waste has been discovered in rain run-off after a storm.
It's more than just messy, it's infectious and dangerous to our health.
Many people are unaware that pathogenic microbes and zoonotic parasites can pass through the
skin almost immediately upon contact, then it's too late because infection has occurred.
Reports have been made on the effects of dogs at beaches, and many of these reports concluded
that those beaches where dogs were allowed were actually cleaner, because their owners cleaned
up after them. When you look at the sheer number of dog owners in any given community, the
vast amount of waste produced per dog, and it doesn't take long to see how a heavy rain can
cause literally tons of it to wash into the stormwater run-off.
While stormdrains have been labeled as potentially dangerous areas at the beach after a storm,
with elevated bacterial microbe counts being commonly seen, it's also just as common at streams
or anywhere stormwater collects or runs.
