Navy Seal Candidates Have Been Swimming In Waters Contaminated By Fecal Matter, Watchdog Reports

U.S. Navy SEAL candidates during Basic Underwater Demolition/SEAL (BUD/S) training in Coronado, California, January 23, 2018.

US Navy/Petty Officer 1st Class Abe McNatt

• A new watchdog report says Navy SEAL candidates face health risks from contaminated water during training in California.
• It says Naval Special Warfare Command has ignored local bacteria-related beach closure advisories.
• Nearly 1,200 gastrointestinal illness cases were reported among trainees from 2019 to 2023.

Navy SEAL candidates have been swimming in waters off Southern California with high levels of fecal matter, according to a new Pentagon watchdog report.

And they've been doing it while beaches are closed to the public to prevent exposure to the hazard, the report said. Naval Special Warfare Command did not respond to Business Insider's request for comment.

A Department of Defense Inspector General report released last week said that "Navy SEAL candidate exposure to contaminated water occurred because [Naval Special Warfare Command] did not follow San Diego County's Beach and Bay Water Quality Program's beach closure postings."

"As a result of Navy SEAL candidate exposure to contaminated water during training, candidates are presented with increased health risks," the report said.

Between January 2019 and May 2023, the Navy diagnosed almost 1,200 cases of acute gastrointestinal illnesses amongst SEAL and Special Warfare Combat Crewman candidates training at Coronado. AGI can include a range of symptoms like nausea, vomiting, and diarrhea.

Nearly 40% of those cases were diagnosed within a week of exposure to ocean water that exceeded state limits, the report said.

Acute gastrointestinal illnesses can be brought on by exposure to bacteria, including enterococcus bacteria that originates in the intestinal tracts of animals and humans and often indicates fecal waste contamination.

US Navy/MCS 1st Class Anthony Walker

Investigators found dangerous levels of enterococcus on beaches on both ends of Coronado in around 75% of water samples collected last year.

Naval Special Warfare relies on local water quality reports provided by San Diego County to identify bacterial presence in waters during training, the report says. It does not conduct self-testing.

When the county water test results indicate dangerously high levels of fecal presence, local beaches are shut down until further testing indicates safer levels of bacteria. But most of the time, when the local beaches are closed, SEAL training doesn't stop.

Sources of fecal bacteria can include wastewater treatment plant runoff, leaking septic systems, and discharged sewage.

California lawmakers have previously highlighted problems with San Diego's South Bay International Wastewater Treatment Plant to Congress, according to The Coronado News, which investigated how millions of gallons of sewage flows from nearby Mexico into the Pacific Ocean.

"Unhealthy levels of pollution are present not only in the ocean, but sewage that washes up on land, dries up and sends dangerous levels of hydrogen sulfide into the air around people's homes," congressional Rep. Scott Peters told House lawmakers last year.

"Coronado, in my district, is home to the Naval Special Warfare Command where Navy SEALs train in waters polluted with human feces," he said.

Responding to the new IG report, the Naval Inspector General agreed that SEAL candidate safety is paramount but said that "Naval Special Warfare cannot easily cancel or relocate 75 percent of its water training activities."