A national report paints a dismal picture of Ohios beaches, ranking them among the dirtiest in the country.

The Natural Resources Defense Council report says Ohios beaches rank 29th in cleanliness, among 30 states.

In 2011, about 22 percent of the samples taken from designated beach areas in Ohio exceeded national standards, according to the report.

The report does not mention heavy rainfall made 2011 a particularly bad year for polluted rainwater runoff in Ohio. Flood waters overwhelmed sewage treatment systems in Sandusky, Port Clinton and other communities along the lake last year.

That high runoff contributed to last years harmful algal bloom in Lake Erie the worst in many years.

So far, 2012 has seen much less rainfall, and the harmful algal bloom in the lake is expected to be much smaller.

The resources council pegs a beach in Vermilion as perhaps the worst in the state.

Stated the report: The beaches with the highest percent exceedance rates of the state standard in 2011 were Edson Creek in Erie County (52 percent); Lakeview Beach in Lorain County (51 percent); and Villa Angela State Park (50 percent), Edgecliff Beach (50 percent), Moss Point Beach (47 percent), and Sims Beach (47 percent) in Cuyahoga County.

The resources council has said its report analyzes contamination from animal and human waste.

Beaches in Ohio, Illinois, Wisconsin and New York were among the top 15 repeat offenders, with high bacteria counts for many years, the council stated in a release.

See original here:

Ohio beaches among the dirtiest