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Local beaches have 'poor' water ratings history

Posted at 4:01 PM, May 30, 2016
and last updated 2016-05-30 18:16:36-04

Cleveland is unofficially starting the beach season, and a local beach already has a water quality warning.

Euclid Beach Villa Angela State Park has a “poor” rating from the Northeast Ohio Regional Sewer District; and is a beach that has had many problems in the past.

“It’s always an issue down here,” said Joe Morganti. “They really don’t clean the water, the beaches enough,” he added.

Morganti has lived in Cleveland all of his life. Newsnet5.com caught up with him while he was walking his dog, Sugar Bear, along the park's beach.

“Right now, I wouldn’t go splashing around on the edge,” he said.

Despite today’s contamination advisory, a couple of kids decided it was a good idea to play around the water.

“I really got scared when I saw a dead fish,” 9-year-old Nasir Thomas said. 

A 2015 report shows the water ratings for 113 days last year. About half of those days showed the water was in poor quality.

Susan Brandt is a Cleveland lifer; and she said that despite how beautiful the water looks, the quality is a growing concern these days.

“You could always ask for a lot less bacteria, and sewage and garbage,” she said.

Newsnet 5.com also checked Edgewater Beach on Memorial Day. It had a “good” rating for water quality but our research showed that in nearly 30 percent of the days it was tested last year, the water was listed as “poor.”

Newsnet5.com talked about water quality with the Cleveland Metroparks today. No one would go on camera. But a representative did say that June 4th was its kick-off to beach season; and that there would be more information about water safety and summer plans at that time.