Maui County beaches have some of the state's lowest bacteria contamination rates, with only 2 percent of surveyed Valley Isle beaches exceeding the state's daily maximum bacterial standards, according to a report released Wednesday.

The Natural Resources Defense Council said that Hawaii County also had only 2 percent of its surveyed beaches go beyond the allowed standards. Kauai County had the highest rate in the state with 7 percent and Oahu had a 3 percent rate. All percentages were derived from 2012 sample testing data.

NRDC is an international nonprofit environmental organization with 1.4 million members and online activists. It issued its annual beach report Wednesday. High bacteria levels in water indicate the presence of human or animal waste, with storm water runoff identified as the highest known source of this pollution, the report said.

Lokelani Intermediate School student Jaedan Correll, 11, tosses a baseball to his mom, Linsay Ono, on Thursday at Charley Young Beach. They were playing catch at the waters edge while Jaedan worked on his skills. He said his mom knows her stuff. Shes really good. She said she learned from her dad. The Maui News / MATTHEW THAYER photo

Ocean water testing samples show that Maui County beaches have some of the states lowest bacteria contamination rates. The Maui News / MATTHEW THAYER photo

Overall, Hawaii ranked fourth in beach water quality out of 30 states, with 4 percent of samples exceeding national standards of designated beach areas in 2012. In all, Hawaii reported counting 470 coastal beaches and beach segments, although not all beaches were sampled.

"I still think our beaches are some of the better in the nation," said Dale Mikami, of the state Department of Health's Clean Water Branch.

The report details water quality findings from some of the country's best beaches and describes best practices for testing and public notification. No Hawaii beaches made the list, but states that had beaches on the list include Alabama, California, Delaware, Maryland, Michigan, Minnesota and New Hampshire.

States that made the "repeat offenders" list for having persistent contamination problems included California, Indiana, New Jersey, New York, Ohio and Wisconsin. Hawaii did not have any beaches on the repeat offenders list.

In Maui County, beaches that were sampled and had incidents of exceeding the state's daily maximum bacterial standards were: Hanakao'o Beach Park, Honolua Bay, Kahului Harbor, Kahana, Kamaole Beach Park I, Kanaha Beach Park, Maliko Bay, Olowalu, Puamana Beach Park and the Kihei beach near St. Theresa Church.

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Bacteria on Maui beaches low, says report