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The "Testing the Waters" report from the Natural Resources Defense Council shows beach water from Hilton Head, Fripp and Hunting islands never exceeded national standards for bacteria in 2009. Only one sample in the county exceeded national standards, on Harbor Island.
"Beaufort County beaches are looking very, very good," said Nancy Cave with the Charleston-based Coastal Conservation League. "Obviously, your county is doing a very good job with the stormwater and other contaminants there."
That trend has continued in 2010, said Adam Myrick of the S.C. Department of Health and Environmental Control. No swimming advisories have been posted in Beaufort County so far, he said.
That makes a big difference in drawing tourists, who often say pristine beaches and natural beauty attract them to the island, according to Hilton Head Island-Bluffton Chamber of Commerce spokeswoman Charlie Clark.
"It's definitely part of our commitment to the environment as a destination," Clark said. "It's part of who we are."
The dirtiest beaches in South Carolina were along the Grand Strand in Horry County. S.C. State Park and Campground, Surfside Beach and Springmaid Beach were ranked as the three worst, according to the report. Horry County ranked the highest with 6 percent of samples exceeding water-quality standards. The statewide average was 4 percent -- improved from 2008, when 7 percent of tests exceeded standards.
This year, no swimming advisories have been issued in South Carolina, according to Myrick.
"We feel like beaches are good and water quality is great," Myrick said.
NRDC uses DHEC's data for its report. Overall, South Carolina beaches were ranked eighth out of 30 states along the coast and Great Lakes for 2009. Minnesota had the most 5-star beaches and Florida had the most 1-star beaches, according to the report.
Nationally, bacteria hit its sixth-highest level in the 20-year history of the report. The number isn't likely to improve in 2010, as the oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico will pollute beaches in Alabama, Louisiana, Florida and Mississippi, according to the council.
Across the country, aging and poorly designed sewage-treatment systems and contaminated stormwater are often to blame for beach water pollution, according to the council.
