Save the Sound, an environmental non-profit, has issued its 2021 Beach Report. Using water testing data from 2018-2020, the organization gave 200+ beaches around the Long Island Sound a letter grade.
“If you have clean water and there’s no sewage going into it or no storm water run-off that’s contaminated, you can get an A+," explained Bill Lucey, Long Island Soundkeeper.
Lucey said that a beach has to have zero, or very few, "failures" in order to get a good grade on the report. A failure is when bacteria in the water exceeds the legal limit.
“If people are going to be enjoying the Long Island Sound, they want to know the fish they are catching are clean. They want to know that the water their kid is swimming in is not full of sewage," said Lucey. "That is the intent of the beach report is to let people know what the condition of their local beaches are."
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According to Save the Sound, the state's top ten beaches for water quality are:
- Waterford Town Beach
- Dubois Beach
- Westbrook Town Beach
- Esker Point Beach
- McCook Point Beach
- Eastern Point Beach
- Quigley Beach
- Woodmont Beach
- White Sands Beach
- Burying Hill Beach
According to Lucey, overall grades are trending in the right direction. Save the Sound issued four D grades for beaches this year across CT and NY.
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You can read Save the Sound's complete 2021 Beach Report here.
