NEW HAVEN, Conn. — The much-anticipated Long Island Sound Beach Report has been released for the year 2023. The results are based on data from 2020-2022, put together by Save the Sound and presented on Wednesday at Lighthouse Point Park in New Haven.
"We work to restore and protect the Sound," said Peter Linderoth, Director of Water Quality of Save the Sound.
Decades ago, Linderoth said "most people" wouldn't be caught swimming in the sound.
"They were reading news reports of poor water quality, fish die-offs, lobsters trying to crawl out of the water, and big slugs of untreated sewage into our estuary which is of course, completely unacceptable," Linderoth said.
That's where people like Linderoth with Save the Sound came in. For 20 years, every two years, they put together a report on the water quality of the more than 200 beaches surrounding the Sound. The data comes from local health departments, which collect at least nine water samples a year.
"They monitor this group of bacteria that's tightly associated with a host of other pathogens in the water, to determine how safe the water is for people to swim," Linderoth said.
The results are presented through a grading system, from 'A' to 'F'. They look at things like 'frequency of wet failure', 'frequency of dry failure', and the magnitude of wet and dry at the beaches. The 2023 report shows 78% of all beaches scored an 'A' or a 'B'. Others did get lower grades.
"Those are areas and beaches that definitely need some attention. And they need some reductions in the stressors that are leading to those poor grades," Linderoth said.
So, which beaches scored the highest?
The top three are:
- Hole-In-The-Wall Beach in East Lyme
- Esker Point Beach in Groton
- Surf Club Beach in Madison
The three places with the lowest grades are:
- Green Harbor Beach in New London
- Byram Park Beach in Greenwich
- Rocky Neck State Park Beach in East Lyme
What's impacting those bad grades? Linderoth said a contributing factor is an increase in rainfall, leading to sewage runoff into the Sound.
"I think it's really important that we all batten the hatches, really start working together to collaboratively reduce storm water run-off going to our beaches," Linderoth said.
That's the case at Lighthouse Point Park in New Haven, which is why the beach got a 'B', though Linderoth said that's still a good grade.
"New Haven has a combined sewer system. So it has combined sewer overflows where storm and sanitary sewage mix, by design, and then after certain amounts of rain, discharge into the sound," Linderoth said.
However, Linderoth said the city has been working on that issue for years, and its beaches have improved because of it.
And while most beaches are ranking higher than average, Linderoth said there's always room for improvement.
"Reducing the volume of storm water making its way to beaches, absolutely critical to get those C, D, F beaches up. But also, to protect the beaches that are A's and B's now that we don't want to do slipping into those other waters," Linderoth said.
But Linderoth said this is a team effort and there are things everyone can do to make the quality of our water, safer.
"For local residents, don't pollute. Keep plastics and pet waste off of our beaches, out of our rivers and streams, and out of the storm drains that make their way down to the coast. If you're connected to a municipal sewage system, ensure your private sewer line is in good repair, and if you have a septic system, make sure you're following maintenance and consider installing newer systems to get your septic tank or sesspool offline. There's new technologies out there that do a much better job at treating waste," Linderoth said.
And if your beach scores poorly, Linderoth encourages people to speak to their local and state representatives to see what they're doing to help with the problem.
The full Long Island Sound Beach Report will be posted here.
Julia LeBlanc is a reporter at FOX61 News. She can be reached at jleblanc@fox61.com Follow her on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
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