Frequent boat traffic too close to the shoreline, particularly along lakefronts and riverfronts, can cause excessive wave action that can lead to beach erosion. Trash dumped from boats can be washed up onto the beach, posing a threat to human and marine species. When boat sewage is not disposed of properly, pathogens and nutrients can enter the water, degrading water quality. Marine debris is trash floating on the ocean or washed up on beaches. It comes from many sources, including beachgoers, improper disposal of trash on land, storm water runoff to rivers and streams, ships and other vessels, and offshore oil and gas platforms.
Marine debris can seriously affect wildlife, the environment, people, and our economy.
Communities can lose considerable income when littered beaches must be closed or cleaned up. An excessive amount of nutrients from land-based sources such as failing septic tanks, sewage treatment plants, boating wastes, deposition from air, industrial organic waste discharge, and contaminated runoff from fertilized farms or yards or from animal feeding operations can adversely affect the beach. Some of these impacts include harmful algal blooms and fish kills. Outbreaks of the toxic microorganism Pfiesteria piscicida have been linked to excessive nutrients in the affected waters. Pathogens threaten human health and cause beach closures.