Washingtonian ocean water

[Arielle]

I've opened my eyes in the pool, and the Black Sea, I've always been terrified of the ocean here in Washington, and lakes though. Mostly because at one point, there were warnings not to go in the ocean water because of bacteria, and the lakes are utterly filthy in the puget sound area. (At least the ones I've been to.)

So, does anyone know if the Washington ocean water is safe for opening your eyes in?

[Triton-Mahtlinnie]

As far as I know, it's perfectly fine. I'm not particularly in the habit of swimming in the Sound due to how cold it is, but I've never had a problem when I do. During the summer season, I swim in Lake Union in the heart of Seattle almost every day. I got an ear infection for being dumb and not drying my ears out properly, but my eyes have never given me trouble.

If you're particularly worried, the bacteria levels at almost every official swimming beach are monitored. http://www2.epa.gov/salish-sea/swimming-beaches

Are there any other Puget Sound mers that regularly swim in the Sound?

[Miyu]

Just curious, but why not wear goggles? I understand that a lot of mers like to not wear goggles for nice photoshoots and videos, but I personally advocate for wearing goggles while swimming for various reasons - bacteria, debris that can scratch your eye, and UV protection to name a few.

I live in OR (halloo, Pacific NW neighbor!), so I'm constantly worried about the state of water around here as well as I moved here from much drier places (where less bad things grow).

[Echidna]

If you're particularly worried, the bacteria levels at almost every official swimming beach are monitored. http://www2.epa.gov/salish-sea/swimming-beaches


While it's true most beaches (and popular swimming spots in lakes and such) are monitored, one should keep in mind that the monitoring is often restricted to fecal bacteria (E. coli and its buddies),
while other, possibly more dangerous stuff (Vibrio vulnificus thrives in saltwater) goes unnoticed.

It's a bit like public pools proudly presenting their impeccable water quality sheet, but what they didn't test was trichloramine levels in water and air, and they'd rather hang themselves than look for urine percentage or stuff like Cryptosporidium (which doesn't just die once in the chlorinated water).