It’s finally summer, and it seems like everyone is thinking about the beach. Kids are splashing at the Boston Harbor beaches or the local pond, families are headed to vacations on the Cape or an inland lake… But is anyone thinking about what’s in the water? Stormdrains and other pipes send raw sewage and polluted runoff containing health-threatening bacteria into our waterways with every rainstorm – and most people don’t even know it.

Our analysis of available data shows that many municipalities across the Commonwealth rely on outdated test methods to determine whether harmful bacteria contaminate their beaches; Fewer than half the beaches are tested using state-of-the-art tests. Fewer than 40% of the identified beaches are tested once each week – the minimum now recommended by the state Department of Public Health to be able to assess public safety.

Beyond testing, alerting the public to conditions at the beach has not been a priority for cities and towns. More than a third have absolutely no posting at the beach, instead leaving a notice at town hall. Of the rest, few post obvious signs for beachgoers. The Metropolitan District Commission beaches are an exception – they are posted with red and blue flags, indicating "bad" and "good" water quality. That way, visitors know exactly what they are diving into.

When resources are available, however, practices improve. For example, the Town of Carver, with a grant from the Massachusetts Association of Health Boards, was able to increase testing frequency from once each month to once each week. The Metropolitan District Commission receives state funds to monitor public beaches in Metropolitan Boston at least once per week, and in some places every day, using only state-of the art testing methods.

This report summarizes the state of beach water quality testing in Massachusetts. The following section reviews the issues, while the tables give site-specific information about testing practices and frequency at beaches across the Commonwealth.

Each summer millions of people head to the water for an extended vacation, a weekend getaway, or a quick swim. And they don’t have far to go. Massachusetts is dotted with 1,638 lakes and ponds larger than 10 acres. We have more coastline than California – 1,974 miles of it. And our 28 major river systems provide local swimming holes and sandy beaches.

Beach tourism is an important part of the Massachusetts economy. Coastal tourists alone spend $1.5 billion annually. Last summer, according to the Massachusetts Tourism Board, Massachusetts hosted 6.2 million vacationers from around the country. Lakeside beaches, resorts, and summer camps also contribute to the economy and create jobs.

Clearly, clean beaches are key to attracting visitors and ensuring that they return again and again to the Commonwealth. Municipal beaches, whether at a pond or on a lake, are important assets to towns and cities, enhancing quality of life.

Because of the success of environmental laws such as the federal Clean Water Act and the Massachusetts Rivers Protection Act, many Bay State waterbodies are cleaner than they were twenty years ago. But threats remain. Currently more than half of Massachusetts residents live within 50 miles of the coast. This means more pressure on coastal resources, and more pollution sources.

Our coastal and inland waters are threatened by pollution from stormwater, old combined sewer-stormwater systems; failing septic systems; and sewer systems that overflow in heavy rains.

The Health Threat

• Stormwater. Stormwater is rain that washes off roads, parking lots, and driveways, carrying a "pollution cocktail" with it, including for example, animal waste, cigarette butts, fertilizers and pesticides, and oil and grease. According to the state Department of Environmental Protection (DEP), stormwater runoff is a major source of pollution in almost half of our coastal waters, and more than a third of our rivers.

• Combined Sewer Systems. Some older cities and towns have sewer systems that collect both sewage and stormwater in the same pipes. During heavy rains, the combined water overloads the system and the overflow is piped directly to the nearest water body – whether a lake, river, or the ocean. Combined sewer overflows affect one-third of our coastal waters, according to DEP. The Massachusetts Water Resources Authority estimates that approximately 26 million gallons (about 50 Olympic-size swimming pools full) of untreated or partially treated sewage is discharged to coastal waters with each heavy rainfall. This adds up to approximately 1.1 billion gallons discharged annually.

• Septic Systems and Sewer Discharges. Malfunctioning septic systems, or systems that are not sized or sited properly can contribute bacteria contamination to nearby water bodies. Leaky or inadequate sewer pipes and treatment plants can also send untreated sewage into local water systems. Sometimes sewer pipes are illicitly connected to stormwater drains – and every flush sends sewage into the nearest water body.

To reduce these threats, we must be able to identify them. Testing at beaches highlights where and when pollution problems are occurring. This kind of information is important for tracking down sources and then eliminating them. More frequent testing – at least once a week – is most useful. This is because bacteria contamination is most often attributed to rainfall, and can vary significantly from day to day. Once-per-month testing will not detect these variations.

Success stories in Salem Sound and the Charles River have been attributed to regular monitoring that provides a baseline for identifying "hot spots" of pollution due to leaking sewer pipes or illicit sewer-to-stormdrain connections. The Charles River, for example, is currently suitable for swimming, based on bacteria standards, almost 90% of the time, compared to only 40% of the time 5 years ago. This is attributed to an aggressive effort to discover and eliminate pollution sources identified through regular monitoring.

Public health officials can do their job better, too, when they have information at hand about public health risks. Weekly testing, using state-of-the-art test methods, provides Boards of Health with the tools to address pollution impacts on local beaches.

Finally, people can make better decisions for themselves and their families when they are provided with information about health threats – they can decide whether they want to take a risk, or not.

Legislation has been introduced (H.3134, "The Beaches Bill") that would require:

1. Uniform water quality standards for coastal and inland public beach waters.
2. Consistent beach water testing procedures using state-of-the-art tests.
3. Public notification about unsafe waters, posting notices at beaches when the water is polluted.

Such a bill would address many of the issues outlined above by increasing consistency of testing and alerting the public to unsafe conditions. Surfrider Foundation, MA Chapter, estimates that the Beaches Bill should cost Massachusetts $500,000 to help municipalities implement the requirements. The public health benefits gained by these dollars are significant – and quite inexpensive. This is only one dollar for every $3,000 dollars gained through coastal tourism.

Meanwhile, the state Department of Public Health has proposed new standards for bathing beaches, due to go into effect next summer. This will be the first time the standards have been updated since the 1960s. The proposed regulations:

1. Apply to all bathing beaches, including state, municipal, and other public or semi-public beaches.
2. Require weekly sampling using state-of-the-art tests: Enterococcus for coastal beaches and E. coli for freshwater lakes, ponds, and rivers.
3. Require posting and closing the beach if standards are exceeded.
4. Allow variances from the requirements.

Until those regulations go into effect next summer, however, old requirements are in place, under which towns are required to test only every other week. Many outdated testing methods are still acceptable under the regulations. Current data show that some municipalities have been finding it difficult to meet existing testing requirements, and it is unclear how many will be able to meet the new requirements. The Beaches Bill, by providing resources, would help communities implement the new standards.

Even with regulations in place, Massachusetts currently has no uniform system of monitoring recreational waters or reporting monitoring results. Therefore, the data in this report were gathered from several diverse sources. The Massachusetts Department of Public Health (DPH), the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, and the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC) carried out surveys in 1998; Salem Sound 2000 (SS), a nonprofit watershed organization, gathered data for Salem Sound beaches in 1999; and MASSPIRG collected data during spring of 2000. In all surveys, local Boards of Health were asked to characterize their own testing practices.

Taken together, the tables show that fewer than 40% of beaches are tested at least once per week. More than 40% do not post results at the beach itself, instead leaving the results in file drawers in town hall, available only during office hours. Of those towns that do post results at the beach, notification is often not clearly visible (i.e., not as visible as a warning flag) at the beach. Only 25% use the state-of-the-art test method now recommended by the state Department of Public Health and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency for evaluating beach waters.

In addition to the information summarized on the tables, several points should be noted:

• The Metropolitan District Commission tests Metropolitan Boston beaches at least once per week, flies flags indicating water quality at each beach, and posts results on a web site (www.shore.net/shore/beach/quality/).

• The Department of Environmental Management, responsible for beaches in state parks and forests, tests public beaches at least every two weeks. Beaches are posted and closed if they exceed the current bacteria standard. State beaches are not listed in the tables.

Data for individual beaches follow in a series of tables. The sections below provide an overview of the results for each region.

Total number of beaches: 278

Beaches tested at least weekly: 100

Beaches monitored using state-of-the-art test method: 116

Beaches with results posted on site: 175

Total number of beaches: 44

Beaches tested at least weekly: 9

Beaches monitored using state-of-the-art test method: 33

Beaches with results posted on site: 31

Of the 44 beaches surveyed on the Cape and Islands, only four clearly meet the proposed state health department regulations for state-of-the-art testing each week and posting beaches that do not meet minimum sanitary standards. These beaches are in Brewster and Nantucket. Nantucket tests its other beaches weekly, but it is unclear if they are posted. Most of the other Cape and Island beaches are tested every other week and posted if they are found to be contaminated. Chatham does not post its beaches. The town beach in Oak Bluffs is tested only once a month, perhaps only three times over the entire swimming season.

Total number of beaches: 66

Beaches tested at least weekly: 33

Beaches monitored using state-of-the-art test method: 21

Beaches with results posted on site: 48

Of 67 beaches identified in the Southeast, 19 beaches – fewer than a third – are tested weekly for bacteria ( 6 using state-of-the-art tests) and posted if they fail to meet minimum standards. Two towns, Charlton and Norton, test only once a month or perhaps only three times over the entire swimming season.

Total number of beaches: 19

Beaches tested at least weekly: 17

Beaches monitored using state-of-the-art test method: 11

Beaches with results posted on site: 18

As noted above, MDC beaches are tested at least once a week and have flags indicating water quality. Newton also tests its beach weekly and closes and posts it if it does not meet minimum standards. Medford’s Wrights Pond is tested only once a month.

Total number of beaches: 76

Beaches tested weekly: 15

Beaches monitored using state-of-the-art test method: 46

Beaches with results posted on site: 43

Of the 76 beaches identified in the northeast, 15 are tested at least once a week. Six beaches in two towns – Georgetown and Gloucester – meet proposed state health department regulations for state-of-the-art testing and posting. Several other towns test some of their beaches once a week, but others only every other week. Lowell tests its beach on the Merrimack River daily, but does not post results at the beach. All the beaches in the Northeast surveyed are tested at least every two weeks.

Total number of beaches: 41

Beaches tested at least weekly: 19

Beaches monitored using state-of-the-art test method: 1

Beaches with results posted on site: 15

Of 41 beaches identified in central Massachusetts, 19 are tested for bacteria once a week, but only one town, Westborough, uses the state-of-the-art test (although they test every other week). Five towns test their beaches only once a month or less: Athol, Northhampton, Royalston, Warren, and Westminster. Beaches in these towns are tested only three times over the entire swimming season.

Total number of beaches: 31

Beaches tested at least weekly: 7

Beaches monitored using state-of-the-art test method: 4

Beaches with results posted on site: 20

Only 7 of 31 ponds identified in the western part of the state that have swimming beaches are tested once a week. Only Ludlow meets proposed health department regulations for state-of-the-art weekly testing and posting results. Ponds in Lanesboro, Mt. Washington, Plainfield and Rowe are tested only once a month.

Massachusetts Department of Public Health, 2000. (DPH ’00) Beach Testing in Massachusetts. Boston, MA: DPH Bureau of Environmental Health Assessment. Derived from a 1999 survey of local Boards of Health.