Beach Bummed Out

Looks like New York State beaches have become just as dirty as the thoughts you have while lying there sunning yourselves (and we're not just talking about hypodermic needles). A new report from the NRDC says there's been a serious rise in the number of health-related advisories and beach closings thanks to pollution. New York beaches experienced over 1200 days of closings and advisories last year (that's up from about 830 in 2005). You can read the report here.

But we're told to take heart in the fact that only about 30% of the closings were related to any real health threats with the remaining simply being pre-emptive - particularly following heavy rainfalls that dragged pollution from sewers into waters where we may swim. Yum. So who fared the worst? Suffolk County had the most closings and advisories, making up about 40% of the state's total. One of the worst offenders was Beachwood Beach West in New Jersey that violated public health standards about 60% of the time that water samples were obtained. Others rounding out the nation's worst include Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Rhode Island, and Minnesota.

So who's at fault? The report aims its finger at record rainfall and sewage and storm drainage systems, apparently horribly out of date and unable to keep up with our own waste. The number of closures thanks to pollution almost doubled since last year with over 25,000 beach closings and advisories nationwide. But please, keep telling us about your favorite, dirtiest New York beaches.

And because of the storm, some beaches may be closed, so call 311 for more information. Here's information from the Health Department about beach quality and safety.

Contact the author of this article or email tips@gothamist.com with further questions, comments or tips.

By Kapil Desai in News on August 8, 2007 2:36 PM

Comments [rss]

guest

Thanks NRDC,

The number of NY beachs is 318 according to the study. That answers my earlier question.

#10

NRDC

NRDC weighing in here; you can read the whole report, including NY city and state findings here:

www.nrdc.org/water/oceans/ttw/...

What we're finding is that communities are doing a better job than they used to in testing and tracking problems and keeping people out of the water when it doesn't meet standards. But those tests can still have a lag of a couple of days.

One rule of thumb is that if there has been a big rain like the one this morning, you can bet there are going to be water quality problems at the beaches.

The other key point is that neither NYC nor most other communities are doing anywhere near enough to repair crumbling sewers or deal more effectively with sprawl and pavement.

Earlier comment that Rockways beaches are generally fairly clean is correct, by the way. But there are always going to be off days.

guest

That article is basically useless without telling us how many New York beaches there are to make up the 1200 closed days. Are there 50, 100, 1000? If there are 600 beaches then there would only be an average of 2 closed days per beach per year. If there are only 50 beaches, the average number of days per year would be 24. Pretty big difference!

pik

"...and sewage and storm drainage systems, apparently horribly out of date and unable to keep up with our own waste..."

great, more failing infrastructure excuses.

guest

Goooo Coney Island Whitefish!

guest

I go to Rockaway Beach (Jacob Riis Park) almost every week. Last weekend (Aug 4) there was a lot of trash (plastic) in the water (due to the rains on Friday, I think) but most of the time it's actually quite clean. Easier to get to than Jones...

guest

for the most part, the beach and water in rockaway are clean; i've lived there my entire life, and spend a lot of time in the ocean, so this isn't just one saturday's experience talking.

rockaway could be a more beautiful beach if the city didn't continually dump all over it. outta sight, outta mind.

guest

while bodysurfing at Riis Beach last week, I accidentally introduced a nice portion of garbage-infused water into my system. YUM. how far out long island to you have to go to leave the trash behind. is Long Beach far enough??

Outter Burrougher

sarahlucy: People consider the area around the Great Lakes to be "beach".

sarahlucy

There are beaches in Minnesota? And Ohio for that matter?

Reality Czech

I love going to Davis Park. No trash except a few pieces of white trash floating about the marina.

Jen S

Ugh. My boyfriend and I went to Fort Tilden this weekend, and the water was full of garbage. Nowhere near Coney Island grossness, but still nasty. Also noticed that there's a sewage treatment center less than a mile from the shore. Nice planning, New York.

Since I'm from eastern Long Island, where the beach is a major attraction, I really can't tolerate dirty beaches or water. No one should have to settle for swimming in trash.