Testing reveals only one beach unsafe
Authorities test water quality in preparation for Easter Week vacation
It’s Semana Santa — or Easter Week — in Mexico, when students get time off school and many people take vacation time.
Where do they go? To the beaches, for the most part.
To prepare for one of the two biggest vacation periods of the year (the other is Christmas), the Secretariats of Environment and Health and the Commission for Protection Against Sanitary Risk in early March conducted tests of sea water at the busiest beaches in Mexico’s 17 coastal states.
Only one flunked the analysis, which measures enterococcus fecal bacteria levels. If the count is over 200 per 100 milliliters of water, swimming is deemed unsafe.
The one beach that failed the test was Playa Hermosa in Ensenada, Baja California, whose test result was 263. Authorities closed the beach today.
Following are the 10 beaches that scored the lowest in the pollution tests, and the test results for each.
- Playa Hermosa, Ensenada, Baja California, 263.
- Playa Sayulita, Bahía de Banderas, Nayarit, 130.
- Playa José Martí, Veracruz, 118.
- Playa Conalep II, Ensenada, Baja California, 100.
- Playa Gaviota, Veracruz, 95.
- Rosarito II, Rosarito, Baja California, 92.
- Playa de Tijuana, Tijuana, Baja California, 69.
- Playa Tortugas, Veracruz, 66.
- Playa Tumbao II, Veracruz, 56.
- Rosarito III, Rosario, Baja California, 55.
And the top 10 cleanest beaches in Mexico:
- Zipolite, Puerto Ángel, Oaxaca, 10.
- Zicatela, Puerto Escondido, Oaxaca, 10.
- La Paz, Loreto, Los Cabos, Baja California Sur, 10.
- Bahía Kino, Guaymas, Huatabampo, Puerto Peñasco, San Luis Río Colorado, Sonora, 10.
- Nuevo Vallarta and Bucerías, Nayarit, 10.
- Puerto Vallarta, Jalisco, 10.
- Cárdenas, Centla, Paraíso, Tabasco, 10.
- Ciudad del Carmen, Campeche, all beaches, 10.
- Champotón, Kalkiní, Campeche, 10.
- Othon P. Blanco, Quintana Roo, 10.
The full list can be found here (Spanish website).
