Water athletes urge Congress to renew the BEACH Act

In the wake of harmful bacteria in the water from Pacific beaches to the Seine River at the Paris Olympics, 128 water athletes – including two current and one former U.S. Olympic Team members – are urging Congress to pass the bipartisan BEACH Act (H.R. 7203) and increase funding for beach testing.

August 8, 2024

Dear Members of Congress, 

As sailors, swimmers, rowers, surfers, and other water athletes, our love of the water is a unique and shared aspect of our lives. Since our sports bring us in direct contact with the water, we hold dear the Clean Water Act’s promise – made more than fifty years ago – to make all our waterways safe for swimming. To help make good on that promise, we urge you to pass the updated BEACH Act (H.R. 7203)  and approve funding for regular, timely testing of coastal and Great Lakes beaches.

Each year, billions of gallons of sewage and runoff pollution flow into our waterways.  

As athletes who rely on the water as our playing field, some of us have felt impacts of this pollution firsthand – from canceled events to teammates getting sick. And the impacts extend far beyond us. Pathogens close beaches. Millions of Americans suffer nausea, skin rashes, and other illnesses from contact with polluted water every year. Fecal bacteria imperils drinking water and wildlife alike.   

While our nation takes steps to stop this pollution at its source, water athletes need more information about when and where our water is contaminated. This means passing the BEACH Act, which would increase beach testing and allow us to know when there is bacteria in the water. 

Congress authorized $30 million to beach testing, but has only provided communities with one-third of that amount. We need to fully fund the BEACH Act to ensure that all of our beaches are tested regularly and that same-day results are available. 

For the sake of clean water – and those of us who rely on it every day – we urge you to reauthorize the BEACH Act and increase funding  now, so we can stay healthy as we compete on our nation’s waters.

Sincerely,

Ivan Puskovitch, Open Water Swimmer Team USA, West Chester, PA

Joseph Tepper, Swimmer Team USA,  Minneapolis, MN

Brennan Gravley, Open Water Swimmer Former Team USA, Las Vegas, NV

Ellen Lagerman, Swimmer, Phoenix, AZ
Sofia Seto, Swimmer, Redwood City, CA
Hannah Saperstein, Rower, Redwood City, CA
Joanna Tang, Swimmer, Goleta, CA
Jack Flores, Sailor, Newport Beach, CA
Annabel De Alessi, Sailor, Santa Rosa, CA
Eliza Tiles, Water Polo Player, Santa Monica, CA
Miki Kusaka, Rower, Irvine, CA
Sheelyn Pharr, Rower, San Francisco, CA
Eva Swei, Rower, Piedmont, CA
Lilah Parker, Sailor, Mill Valley, CA
Julian Tayarah, Swimmer, Sierra Madre, CA
Sarah Dunwoody, Open Water Swimmer, Belmont, CA
Dalton Boyse, Rower, Burlingame, CA
Maryn McNeely, Swimmer, Evergreen, CO
Isa Blackburn, Rower Greenwich, CT
Christina Hart, Sailor, Darien, CT
Will Eykyn, Sailor, Fairfield, CT
Max Henderson, Water Polo Player, Suffield, CT
Georgia Butler, Rower, Cos Cob, CT
Katherine Tombaugh, Rower, New Haven, CT
Janna Moore, Rower, Westport, CT
Eli Houlton, Swimmer, Higganum, CT
Julia Halbreich, Rower, Sarasota, FL
Meg Frederick, Swimmer, Atlanta, GA
Michael Petrides, Swimmer, Honolulu, HI
Jodi Cohen, Fisher and Swimmer, Boise, ID
Pete Erickson, Fly Fisher, Boise, ID
Eleanor Loonam, Rower, Chicago, IL
Sofia Hletko, Rower, Evanston, IL
Tes Koleno, Rower, Highland Park, IL
Elizabeth Johnson, Rower, Louisville, KY
Sophie Axelrod, Sailor, Bethesda, MD
Phoebe Lewis, Swimmer, Chevy Chase, MD
Shiv Puri, Rower, Potomac, MD
Olivia Lieb, Kayaker, Bozeman, MT
Emma van Duijnhoven, Open Water Swimmer, Boston, MA
Armaan Sikka, Swimmer, Medford, MA
Elizabeth Sutter, Water Polo Player, Beverly, MA
Maria Skouloudi, Sailor, Medford, MA
Jessica Berger, Triathlete, Harvard, MA
Stefano Chiampo, Sailor, Arlington, MA
Harrison Vose, Sailor, Duxbury, MA
John Cha, Swimmer, Arlington, MA
Annecy Kagan, Sailor, Nantucket, MA
Samantha Jensen, Sailor, West Falmouth, MA
Stella Shen, Rower, Andover, MA
Summer Maxwell, Rower, Acton, MA
Sanjana Rao, Rower, Acton, MA
Rose Tinkjian, Rower, Newton, MA
Piper Larin, Rower, Cambridge, MA
Isabelle Berman, Rower, Medford, MA
Zenani Himlin-Mayekiso, Rower, Greenfield, MA
Lizzie Ross, Water Polo Player, Boston, MA
Zach Lawrence, Swimmer and Diver, Boston, MA
Greta Traver, Sailor, Holland, MI
Kate Johnston, Swimmer, Minnetrista, MN
Molly Mahar, Swimmer, East Kingston, NH
Reilly Uiterwyk, Rower, Lyme, NH
Ellis Sartorio, Swimmer, Mountainside, NJ
Kendra Canale, Swimmer, Egg Harbor City, NJ
Samara Haynes, Rower, Montclair, NJ
Gabriella Pontoriero, Rower, Warren, NJ
Sofia Stafford, Rower, Cherry Hill, NJ
Kona Glenn, Rower, Egg Harbor Township, NJ
Michael Madden, Rower, New City, NY
John Madden, Swimmer, Briarcliff Manor, NY
Sophie Cumming, Rower, Rye, NY
Ella Tuck, Rower, Bronxville, NY
Eray Baykal, Wind Surfer, New York City, NY
Emma Litchfield, Rower, Brewster, NY
Clark Morris, Sailor, Larchmont, NY
Caroline Vauclain, Rower, Bryn Mawr, PA
Emily Lieb, Water Polo Player, State College, PA
Julia McDougall, Rower, Newtown, PA
Julia Karten, Women’s Rower, Philadelphia, PA
Celia Byrne, Sailor, Newport, RI
Ruby Groves, Swimmer, Providence, RI
Robbie Allison, Surfer, Kayaker, Water Skier, Salt Lake City, UT
Grace Sheble, Swimmer, Richmond, VA
Louisa Compton, Women’s Rower, Seattle, WA
Gracelyn Theobald, Rower, Seattle, WA
Niamh Westover, Rower, Seattle, WA
Grace Eamer, Rower, Seattle, WA
Evelyn Payne, Rower, Seattle, WA
Julia Palmer, Rower, Seattle, WA
Nora Wilson, Rower, Seattle, WA
Ronan Manning, Rower, Seattle, WA
Cassia Colombara, Rower, Seattle, WA
Sanjana Sriram, Rower, Bellevue, WA
Tilly Feudner, Rower, Edmonds, WA
Ruby Dirks, Water Polo Player, Seattle, WA
George Kalafatis, Rower, Seattle, WA
Alice Brashers, Rower, Seattle, WA
Lyla Sutphin, Rower, Seattle, WA
Cassidy McArthur, Rower, Seattle, WA
Piper George, Rower, Seattle, WA
Mina Cook, Rower, Seattle, WA
Skye Luebbe Davidson, Rower, Seattle, WA
Megan Gross, Rower, Seattle, WA
Harrison Greenstein, Rower, Seattle, WA
Henry Knowles, Rower, Seattle, WA
Timur Meleshuk, Rower, Seattle, WA
Benjamin Illing, Rower, Seattle, WA
Virginia Ronco, Rower, Seattle, WA
Ella Hubbard, Sailor, Olympia, WA
Elina Dabhi, Rower, Seattle, WA
Alana Lombaard, Rower, Seattle, WA
Elisabeth Wu, Rower, Seattle, WA
Nicholas Krag, Rower, Seattle, WA
Avia Roundtree, Rower, Seattle, WA
Elise Grass, Rower, Seattle, WA
Chloe Zurita, Rower, Shoreline, WA
Peter McCormick, Rower, Seattle, WA
Georgia Legere, Rower, Seattle, WA
Lola Taraday, Swimmer, Seattle, WA
Nora Wilson, Rower, Seattle, WA
Isaac Sanayebakhsherad-Franks, Rower, Seattle, WA
Carly Cohen, Rower, Seattle, WA
Solanes Capps-Mace, Rower, Seattle, WA
Emily Kendall, Rower, Seattle, WA
Caelan Harrington, Rower, Seattle, WA
Delaney Belcher, Water Polo Player, Seattle, WA
Seona Maskara, Swimmer, Milwaukee, WI
Alaina Breitbach, Swimmer, Stevens Point, WI