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Originally Posted by Dentoid  Eew! Are they dumping sewage in you area? Surely you wouldn't want to use sand collected from a place where it is unsafe to swim!  |
Well hog farming is a big industry in NC and whenever a hurricane or severe rains come through there is a good chance of these places flooding raw pig poo into the rivers which feed into the ocean.
Doesn't happen all the time, but often enough for the NC Division of MArine Fisheries to shut down the shellfish harvesting and recomend people to stay off the beach and definitely stay out of the rivers and estuaries until mother nature can heal herself. Some of these area will accumulate all kinds of nutrients (think fertilizer) especially near the river and estuary mouths.
FWIW I have surfed after the hurricanes, Depending on the areas, you can be fine (take into account the currents and which why the nutrients are spread). Still there are many accounts of surfers getting sick taking advantage of the good surf after a hurricane, I don't know if those are linked directly with the nasties put in the water, but we always hear about it on the surfer forums after hurricanes or bad storms.