Summer heat forces thousands of citizens and guests of Odessa to reach for the sea. However, this summer an unpleasant surprise awaited them - on August 2, 2012, the sanitary and epidemiological service of Odessa issued an order banning swimming on four city beaches.
Water within the boundaries of any large city traditionally contains an increased amount of pollutants. But the greatest danger is posed by pathogenic bacteria, primarily Vibrio cholerae and Escherichia coli. Their presence in the water is sufficient reason to close any beach in the area of which pathogens are found. It is much easier and more profitable to prevent possible diseases than to deal with their consequences later.
On August 2, an unpleasant surprise awaited the inhabitants of Odessa - the sanitary and epidemiological service banned the use of water on four city beaches: "Otrada", "Chaika", "Kurortny" and "Zolotoy Bereg". The specific reasons for this decision are not reported; the SES statement only says that the water samples taken on these beaches do not meet the normative indicators. Most likely, we are talking about the discrepancy in terms of epidemiological parameters.
It is worth noting that on July 12, the SES has already recommended refraining from swimming in the sea in the Odessa region. The reason was torrential rains, which washed away a large amount of mud from the streets of the city into the sea; restrictions were lifted only on 24 July. Until now, the beach "Chernomorka" remains closed, the reason is its poor technical condition.
Without a doubt, residents of Odessa and guests of the city are interested in the question of when the beaches will be reopened. The Sanitary-Epidemiological Service gives a very simple answer - the beaches will be open when the bacteriological examination of seawater samples shows that it meets the normative indicators. The situation with the closure of beaches is quite typical for Odessa, this happens almost every year. So, in 2011, the beaches were closed not only due to the detection of pathogens of cholera and E. coli, but also due to water pollution with oil products.
