Dirty water in San Francisco Bay?

[fenyves]

About 6 out the last 8 times that I have gone sailing in SF bay I have developed flu-like symptoms; i.e., fatigue, headache, sore throat, queasy digestive tract. Im wondering if Im picking up a bug from the water. Has anyone else experienced this? If so, were you able to diagnose the cause? If not, does anyone know of a source of data regarding water quality in the Bay? Also, do you know where I could send a water sample for testing?

If you can help, could you also send me an email directly? Thats much easier than monitoring the message boards.

Thanks,

Les Fenyves

jma@dnai.com

[spyder]

Im not surprised. Alot of local treated waste is pumped down into the bay floor.

I have noticed sewage smells way out in the bay at times. Certainly there must be a lot of nasty bacterias in the bay.

Once I fell in during the fall (near the end of the season), and I developed a weird skin rash that peeled away skin for weeks. I thought I fell in a toxic waste dump.

This was all at Coyote Pt.

[jfjfjfjf]

Surfrider sells a water testing kit for a few dollars and how to get it tested. The Surfers in the organization make a lot of noise about the water qualitiy in the bay since they surf at Fort Baker. Another organization is the local chapter of Waterkeepers (Baykeepers?) who look for polution sources in the Bay and have successfully prosecuted the accused. There has been some fairly heavy dredging in the Richmond channel for the last several weeks. I can see looking down on the area from my house and from sailing through the area a lot of silt that gets stirred up which the tides move through the Pt. Isabel sailing area. A lot of people get sinus problems from the Bay water but I think the dog crap cross-contamination at Pt.Isabel is potentially a more serious problem.