Currently, Cowell Beach is ranked the number one dirtiest beach in California and it has been holding this position for the last four years. According to researchers, “...nearly 90 percent of samples during the summer dry period exceeded at least one state bacterial standard at this location” (Seaver 1).The water pollution is so bad that signs have been setup warning people about swimming in the water. This pollution partly arises from the thousands of people who go to the Boardwalk and litter all over the beach. I personally went to the Boardwalk beach for 15 minutes and witnessed a horrific amount of plastic all over the sand. This littering has lead to the polluted waters of Cowell beach and analysts say that “the high bacteria counts at the beach can be linked to potential illnesses like stomach flu, ear and upper-respiratory infections and major skin rashes” (Seaver 1).This beach is frequently visited by tourists and the fact that it has become toxic is a problem we should be dealing with seriously. The city of Santa Cruz is attempting to solve the issue and has “been spending money directed to clean up beach pollution by removing trash, … sweeping the wharf daily with a new street sweeper, and sifting and raking Cowell and Main Beach regularly” (Sentinel Editorial Board 1). This is a great start to solving the problem, but it does not stop people from littering on the beach. This initiative only cleans up after the act and does not actually prevent the littering from occurring.

 

For this reason personnel need to be hired and a littering fee should be instated in an effort to lower the amount of littering on the beach. A study was done in Argentina that attempted to measure the effects persuasive and demonstrated messages would have on littering rates. Four different beaches were visited in 29 days and 102 trials in which, “We made an intervention at the beaches which consisted of a personalized verbal request asking visitors to take their litter to the waste cans” (Cingolani 1). The conclusion of the study was that, “Littering per visitor was reduced an average of 35% due to the intervention” (Cingolani 1). A 35 percent decrease is overwhelming evidence that setting up messages and hiring personnel will solve our littering epidemic. My solution would not cost a lot of money and would also create jobs to stimulate our economy. A 500 dollar fine can be set for anyone who litters on the beach and the hired personnel will enforce this law. The hired personnel should also watch for homeless people and make sure that they do not add to the pollution. There is a large homeless population near the Boardwalk of Santa Cruz and many of them urinate in the beach water. Although this may not be a significant source of  pollution, many bacteria's can be transported through urine.

Many people are skeptical of the applicability of this solution to Cowell beach and claim that the water is polluted because of the wrack(items washed onto the beach from the open sea) on the shore of Cowell beach. This claim is substantiated from the fact that many beaches around the world have gotten polluted from decomposing kelp causing FIBs(Fecal Indicator Bacteria) to become present in the waters. A dye tracing study was done by the Environmental Engineering department of Stanford University in an attempt to figure out the true cause of Cowell beaches pollution. The study found that, “two separate sources were identified as being dominant, sand for ENT and contaminated groundwater for EC. Wrack was found to be only a minor source, contributing less than 2% of the FIB compared to the dominant sources” (Russell V). This study completely disproves the argument of wrack being a prominent factor in the pollution and demonstrates how complex the problem really is. ENT is a FIB that is found in the sand of beaches through the feces of birds  and “can be transported through sand via saturated and transient flow” (Brown 67). For ENT to be transported into the water, the feces must land close to the water. EC, on the other hand, is a FIB that is found in groundwater or a polluted drain. This explanation for the pollution makes sense since Researchers have previously linked the pollution of Cowell beach to a “ toilet in an apartment building, flushing directly into the storm drain”(Sentinel Editorial Board 1). From this study it can be seen that many different factors have contributed to the pollution of Cowell beach. Many of these factors are hard to detect and therefore hard to resolve. It could take years of work to stop the source of the FIBs and it would definitely not be a simple solution. The littering on the beach is the only factor of pollution that can effectively be reduced cost effectively and for this reason should be focused on first.