Many New England Beaches Should Have Closed Over LDW for Fecal Contamination

Labor Day Weekend is behind us, and I'm pretty sure a news story should have circulated a lot faster...and louder. Apparently, a lot of beaches were, or should have been, closed over Labor Day Weekend due to fecal contamination.

Fecal Contamination in Massachusetts, Maine, and New Hampshire

According to a USA Today article, swimming caution advisories and closures were issued from Maine to Florida before Labor Day Weekend. Honestly, this is a little unsettling to me because I feel like I saw MANY people swimming and boating in New England.

There were 50 beaches closed in Massachusetts over the weekend due to the threat that the water-borne illness poses. Symptoms could include nausea, vomiting, sore throat, and even rashes and infections.

Below are the Massachusetts beaches that were closed over the weekend, according to USA Today:

• Ashby: Damon Pond Beach (Bacterial Exceedance)

• Ashland: Ashland Reservoir (Bacterial Exceedance)

• Barnstable: Keyes Beach (Bacterial Exceedance)

• Beverly: Woodbury (Bacterial Exceedance)

• Billerica:

  • Micozzi Beach at North (Bacterial Exceedance)
  • Micozzi Beach at South (Bacterial Exceedance)

• Braintree:

  • Smith Beach (Bacterial Exceedance)
  • Sunset Lake at Location 1 (Bacterial Exceedance)

• Brewster:

  • Cliff Pond at DYS (Harmful Cyanobacteria Bloom)
  • Cliff Pond at Main (Harmful Cyanobacteria Bloom)

• Chicopee: Chicopee Beach (Harmful Cyanobacteria Bloom)

• Danvers: Sandy Beach (Bacterial Exceedance)

• Essex: Centennial Grove (Harmful Cyanobacteria Bloom)

• Framingham: Learned Pond Beach (Bacterial Exceedance)

• Franklin: Chilson Beach (Bacterial Exceedance)

• Georgetown: American Legion Park (Bacterial Exceedance)

• Harwich: Seymour Pond (Harmful Cyanobacteria Bloom)

• Holden: Eagle Lake (Bacterial Exceedance)

• Mashpee:

  • Santuit Pond at Byrants Neck (Harmful Cyanobacteria Bloom)
  • Santuit Pond at Town Landing (Harmful Cyanobacteria Bloom)

• Nantucket: Sesachacha Pond (Bacterial Exceedance)

• Natick: Memorial Beach at Wading (Bacterial Exceedance)

• North Andover:

  • Frye Pond Beach (Bacterial Exceedance)
  • Stevens Pond (Bacterial Exceedance)

• Oxford: Carbuncle Pond (Harmful Cyanobacteria Bloom)

• Salem:

  • Children's Island – Back (Bacterial Exceedance)
  • Children's Island – Wally (Bacterial Exceedance)
  • Ocean Avenue (Bacterial Exceedance)

• Saugus: Pearce Lake at Breakheart Reservation (Bacterial Exceedance)

• Sharon:

  • Community Center Beach (Bacterial Exceedance)
  • Sharon Town Beach (Bacterial Exceedance)

• Sherborn: Farm Pond (Harmful Cyanobacteria Bloom)

• Southwick: South Pond Beach (Bacterial Exceedance)

• Springfield:

  • Bass Pond (Harmful Cyanobacteria Bloom)
  • Camp Wilder (Bacterial Exceedance)
  • Paddle Club (Harmful Cyanobacteria Bloom)

• Templeton: Beamans Pond (Bacterial Exceedance)

• Tisbury: Hilman's Point (Bacterial Exceedance)

• Townsend: Pearl Hill Pond Beach (Bacterial Exceedance)

• Upton: Upton Town Beach (Harmful Cyanobacteria Bloom)

• Wareham: Shangri-La (Harmful Cyanobacteria Bloom)

• Westborough: Lake Chauncy Beach (Harmful Cyanobacteria Bloom)

• Wilmington:

  • Wilmington Town Beach at Center (Bacterial Exceedance)
  • Wilmington Town Beach at Right (Bacterial Exceedance)

• Winchendon:

  • Lake Dennison State Park at Day Use Beach (Bacterial Exceedance)
  • Lake Dennison State Park at North Camp Beach (Bacterial Exceedance)

• Winchester: Shannon Beach at Upper Mystic (Bacterial Exceedance)

• Winthrop:

  • Donovans (Bacterial Exceedance)

  • Halford (Bacterial Exceedance)

  • Winthrop Beach (Bacterial Exceedance)