EAST LYME– After being closed for the first time in seven years due to bacteria, Rocky Neck, along with several other beaches, was reopened Tuesday. Mashamoquet Brook State Park has also reopened.
The parks were closed to the public Thursday after testing by DEEP officials showed high levels of bacteria in the water. DEEP said that the water was re-sampled Monday. The results showed that the bacteria levels had dropped to a level that is safe for swimming.
Gay City, and Pachaug State Forest are still closed. Those parks will be tested again on Thursday and the results will be in by Friday.
DEEP conducts weekly water quality tests at 23 designated State Park beaches from Memorial Day to Labor Day over the course of two days – Wednesday and Thursday. Results from the tests are available the next day.
Samples from these swimming areas are analyzed the DPH lab. Samples are analyzed for indicator bacteria, which are not disease causing pathogens, but are one of the tools used by public health and environmental protection officials to evaluate the potential contamination of waterbodies.
