Yuck! Report Finds Fecal Contamination At Massachusetts Beaches

I guess the lesson we can take away from this lovely bit of news is: Be careful where you swim!

WHDH/7 News Boston is reporting that a new study put out by Environment Massachusetts Research & Policy Center is flagging unhealthy water at numerous Massachusetts beaches.

The study, titled Safe For Swimming, looked for fecal indicator bacteria at beaches in 29 states and found, in their words, "potentially unsafe" levels of contamination. I don't know about you but just the word "potentially" is enough to keep me away.

In the Commonwealth, researchers tested 556 beaches for fecal indicator bacteria in 2020, and out of those beaches tested, 264 were found to have "potentially unsafe water on at least one day, and 29 beaches were potentially unsafe on at least 25% of the days they were tested".

According to the report, King's Beach in Lynn and Swampscott was found to be potentially unsafe on more days than any other beach in the state at 64. Out of all regions tested in the Bay State, Norfolk County beaches were found to have the highest percentage of potentially unsafe days at 12%.

Does 57 million seem like a high number to you? That's the total number of cases of people getting sick from swimming in contaminated water the United States sees every year, the report estimates. And that's no joke.

The Safe For Swimming report doesn't mince words, stating:

Human contact with contaminated water can result in gastrointestinal illness as well as respiratory disease, ear and eye infection, and skin rash.

To read the full report, go here. For more on the story, visit WHDH's website here.

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Filed Under: bacteria, beaches, Berkshire county, fecal, massachusetts

Categories: Local News, News