Boston Harbor’s Water Once Again Ranked Among the Safest for Beachgoers

Special to The Advocate

REVERE – Save the Harbor/Save the Bay released their 2023 Beach Season Water Quality Report Card at a press conference with Democratic Whip Katherine Clark, DCR Commissioner Brian Arrigo, Revere Mayor Patrick Keefe, Rep. Jessica Giannino, Rep. Jeff Turco, Councillor Ira Novoselsky Councillor Robert J. Haas, III, Councillor Angela Guarino-Sawaya, staff of Sen. Lydia Edwards, staff of Rep. Adrian Madaro, Executive Director Chris Mancini, and members of the Metropolitan Beaches Commission and Save the Harbor’s Better Beach Grant Program in attendance on Revere Beach, just in time for the 2024 Beach Season.

This year’s report card uses data from the Department of Conservation and Recreation (DCR) to survey the water quality of each of the region’s public beaches in Lynn, Nahant, Revere, Winthrop, East Boston, South Boston, Dorchester, Quincy and Hull.

2023 was the rainiest summer in the Boston area since 1955, resulting in an overall water quality safety rating of 85% for the Boston Harbor area beaches, down from the previous dry year’s 93% score. While Revere Beach’s water quality dropped from 98% in 2022 to 89% in 2023 due to the historic rainfall that occurred last summer, it remains one of the cleanest in the region.

They have summarized the results in the following table:

Despite the frequent heavy rainstorms, nine area beaches scored over 88% this year, with South Boston’s beaches once again defending their title as the cleanest urban beaches in the country.

“Even amid all the ecological challenges of last year’s historic rainfall, our beaches were able to persevere and continue welcoming visitors,” said Democratic Whip Katherine Clark. “That resilience was a policy choice — the result of transformational investments in Boston Harbor. Now, we have to make another choice: mobilizing unprecedented action to brace these treasures against the impacts of climate change. That’s why I’m fighting every day to bring home our share of the historic climate investments we’ve enacted under President Biden.”

Save the Harbor hopes their annual report card makes it easy to understand how safe and clean these places are, even as they work to address the effect of sea level rise on recreational beaches and the impact of increasing storms on water quality in some areas.

The dizzying amount of precipitation amplifies the significant effort still required to raise the standard on some beaches like King’s Beach in Lynn, which scored a record low of 55% in the wet season.

“King’s Beach is an outlier in the Boston area,” said Save the Harbor Executive Director Chris Mancini. “It’s a difficult and complex infrastructure challenge that has required dozens of meetings between stakeholders at every level of community and government. We’re very lucky to have such a committed, collaborative group from Lynn, Swampscott, the state and the federal government focused on trying to turn this beach around.”

In the meantime, beach fans have at least 12 other easily reachable state beaches where they can count on a relaxing, safe beach day nearly every day of the week.

“At DCR, we’re committed to ensuring our beaches are safe, clean and swimmable spaces for our families and residents cool down at, and despite last year’s record rainfall, our Metro Boston beaches continue to be some of the cleanest in the country,” said DCR Commissioner Brian Arrigo. “Throughout the summer, DCR conducts regular water quality testing at all of our waterfronts, and we work diligently with our partners at the Department of Public Health to post the results to our website and Park Alerts Page as quickly as possible. We’re grateful to our partners like Save the Harbor and the legislators on the Metro Beaches Commission for their support in ensuring our beaches are welcoming place and our residents have clean water for recreation.”

But what about those infrequent days when it might be unsafe to swim? “In urban infrastructure, an inch of rain can quickly flush out bacteria that builds up in drains and stormwater pipes from people, animals and other sources,” said Save the Harbor Deputy Director Kristen Barry. “That bacteria is the main public health concern – the good news is we have a 9-foot tide cycle twice a day and within 24 hours our beaches are again as clean as ever.”

Currently the beaches use a posting and flagging system to alert the public to high bacteria levels. Unfortunately, the best technology available takes 24 hours to return results, meaning by the time the posting goes up, the information is already out of date.

“Until technology can catch up, our best advice is to follow the 24-hour rule and simply wait a day after a significant rainfall before returning to water,” said Mancini. “Except in South Boston where you can swim every day of the year. In the meantime, the Report Card has been a great tool to show the great overall quality of our urban beaches. We hope it will give people the confidence to get out and enjoy our spectacular state beaches.”

Save the Harbor/Save the Bay thanks Dr. Judy Pederson, former Chair of their Beaches Science Advisory Committee and Bruce Berman, former Director of Strategy & Communications at Save the Harbor/Save the Bay for their guidance in developing the methodology used in this report.

They also thank Senate President Karen Spilka and House Speaker Ron Mariano, Metropolitan Beaches Commission Co-Chairs Senator Brendan Crighton of Lynn and Rep. Adrian Madaro of East Boston, and each of the legislative and community members of the Commission for their commitment to clean water and the region’s public beaches from Nahant to Nantasket.

They also thank the Healey/Driscoll Administration, the Massachusetts Water Resources Authority, The Massachusetts Executive Office of Energy and Environmental Affairs, the Massachusetts Department of Conservation & Recreation, the Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection, the Massachusetts Department of Public Health, the Richard M. Saltonstall Charitable Foundation, The Rose Family Foundation, the Barr Foundation, and Kelly Coughlin of Stony Brook Partners.

To learn more about Save the Harbor/Save the Bay and the great work they do to restore, protect and share Boston Harbor, the waterfront, islands and the region’s public beaches with all Bostonians and the region’s residents visit their website at www.savetheharbor.org and follow @savetheharbor on social media.