Report: More Long Island Sound beaches unsafe for swimming
The number of Long Island Sound's more than 200 beaches considered safe to swim at has fallen in the past four years, and nearly 30% rate either about average or below average for swimming, according to a report released Tuesday by the environmental nonprofit Save the Sound.
Only one Long Island beach, Beekman Beach in Oyster Bay, made the 10 lowest-scoring beaches in the region, with a C+.
The 2025 Beach Report, a biennial study of the Sound's overall environmental health, noted a rise in "lost beach days" as well as "wet weather sample failures," which it said was "driven by climate change."
Sound beaches in New York and Connecticut considered safe to swim stand at 72% in 2025, compared to 78% in 2023's report.
Put another way, said David Ansel, vice president of Water Protection at Save the Sound, "that means that almost 30% of the beaches are still getting C’s or lower. So that means that we have a lot of work to do."
Ansel made his comments at a news conference on the report Tuesday at Centerport Beach.
Kenney’s Beach and McCabe’s Beach in Southold, Reeves Beach in Riverhead and Ransom Beach in Bayville all received A+ scores, according to the report.
Ansel said municipalities collected samples from more than 200 private and public beaches, which were measured using an EPA Water Quality Data Center Platform.
The samples measured for bacterium like enterococcus, which can indicate the presence of potentially dangerous bacteria in the water like E. coli.
Grades for each beach are composed of four parts: the highest and lowest percentage of bacteria found in both dry and wet weather. Beaches that receive A’s and B’s are considered safe for swimming, while those with below C’s are not.
Ansel said one probable factor why the percentage of swimmable beaches slightly decreased is due to the frequency and severity of rainfall in the past three years, which in turn creates more water pollution and stormwater runoff pollution.
"We're coming off the wettest two-year stretch, in 2023 and 2024 with 40 inches of rain, and the wettest five-year stretc,h from 2020, to 2024, of 91 inches of rain," Ansel said.
If a community has outdated sewage infrastructure, such as impervious parking lots, sidewalks, roads and rooftops, things on the ground like fecal matter, animal waste, contaminants and plastic can be carried into the water.
"Whatever’s on the ground is going to get into the Sound," Ansel said.
Huntington Town Supervisor Ed Smyth, who serves Long Island Sound beach communities from Cold Spring Harbor to Fort Salonga, said Centerport Beach, which received a B-, is susceptible to heavy rainfall, as it is at the bottom of a hill.
The town has made various efforts to combat pollution, such as implementing a floating upweller system for growing shellfish, launching a spat-on-shell program with local restaurants that recycle oysters, scraping out the town’s 500 recharge basins, or sumps, and growing native sugar kelp off the shores of Centerport Beach, which reduces harmful nitrogen in the water.
"It's vitally important that the infrastructure is constantly being upgraded and maintained across Long Island, because that's going to have the one of the biggest effects on the quality of the waterways," Smyth said.
Ansel encouraged others to maintain healthy water quality by upgrading their septic tanks and cesspools, maintaining their sewers, and installing green infrastructure such as rain gardens.
Lori Kerman, 68, of Northport, who came to Centerport Beach on Tuesday to tie up her kayak, said she wasn’t bothered by its B- grade, but wishes more people would show concern about the chemicals they use that can end up in the sound.
"Very disappointed that people use Roundup and fertilize their lawns," said Kerman, who has native plants and is a vegetarian. "They don’t think about it themselves in terms of how it affects them and the wildlife."
The number of Long Island Sound's more than 200 beaches considered safe to swim at has fallen in the past four years, and nearly 30% rate either about average or below average for swimming, according to a report released Tuesday by the environmental nonprofit Save the Sound.
Only one Long Island beach, Beekman Beach in Oyster Bay, made the 10 lowest-scoring beaches in the region, with a C+.
The 2025 Beach Report, a biennial study of the Sound's overall environmental health, noted a rise in "lost beach days" as well as "wet weather sample failures," which it said was "driven by climate change."
Sound beaches in New York and Connecticut considered safe to swim stand at 72% in 2025, compared to 78% in 2023's report.
Put another way, said David Ansel, vice president of Water Protection at Save the Sound, "that means that almost 30% of the beaches are still getting C’s or lower. So that means that we have a lot of work to do."
Ansel made his comments at a news conference on the report Tuesday at Centerport Beach.
Kenney’s Beach and McCabe’s Beach in Southold, Reeves Beach in Riverhead and Ransom Beach in Bayville all received A+ scores, according to the report.
Ansel said municipalities collected samples from more than 200 private and public beaches, which were measured using an EPA Water Quality Data Center Platform.
The samples measured for bacterium like enterococcus, which can indicate the presence of potentially dangerous bacteria in the water like E. coli.
Grades for each beach are composed of four parts: the highest and lowest percentage of bacteria found in both dry and wet weather. Beaches that receive A’s and B’s are considered safe for swimming, while those with below C’s are not.
Ansel said one probable factor why the percentage of swimmable beaches slightly decreased is due to the frequency and severity of rainfall in the past three years, which in turn creates more water pollution and stormwater runoff pollution.
"We're coming off the wettest two-year stretch, in 2023 and 2024 with 40 inches of rain, and the wettest five-year stretc,h from 2020, to 2024, of 91 inches of rain," Ansel said.
If a community has outdated sewage infrastructure, such as impervious parking lots, sidewalks, roads and rooftops, things on the ground like fecal matter, animal waste, contaminants and plastic can be carried into the water.
"Whatever’s on the ground is going to get into the Sound," Ansel said.
Huntington Town Supervisor Ed Smyth, who serves Long Island Sound beach communities from Cold Spring Harbor to Fort Salonga, said Centerport Beach, which received a B-, is susceptible to heavy rainfall, as it is at the bottom of a hill.
The town has made various efforts to combat pollution, such as implementing a floating upweller system for growing shellfish, launching a spat-on-shell program with local restaurants that recycle oysters, scraping out the town’s 500 recharge basins, or sumps, and growing native sugar kelp off the shores of Centerport Beach, which reduces harmful nitrogen in the water.
"It's vitally important that the infrastructure is constantly being upgraded and maintained across Long Island, because that's going to have the one of the biggest effects on the quality of the waterways," Smyth said.
Ansel encouraged others to maintain healthy water quality by upgrading their septic tanks and cesspools, maintaining their sewers, and installing green infrastructure such as rain gardens.
Lori Kerman, 68, of Northport, who came to Centerport Beach on Tuesday to tie up her kayak, said she wasn’t bothered by its B- grade, but wishes more people would show concern about the chemicals they use that can end up in the sound.
"Very disappointed that people use Roundup and fertilize their lawns," said Kerman, who has native plants and is a vegetarian. "They don’t think about it themselves in terms of how it affects them and the wildlife."
Wet holiday weekend getaway ... Ballooning Coliseum casino costs ... Domenico's closing ... Knicks drop heartbreaker
Wet holiday weekend getaway ... Ballooning Coliseum casino costs ... Domenico's closing ... Knicks drop heartbreaker
