RIDOH Recommends 8 Beach Closings

RIDOH Recommends 8 Beach Closings

The Rhode Island Department of Health (RIDOH) recommends closing several beaches because of high bacteria levels:

 

- Scarborough South in Narragansett
- Easton’s Beach in Newport
- Third Beach and Peabody’s Beach in Middletown
- Sandy Point Beach in Portsmouth
- City Park and Conimicut Beach in Warwick
- Kent County YMCA in Warwick

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Last year there were 169 days of beach closures in RI. The highest year was 2003, with 503 days.

Fourteen beaches have been closed to date this year.

"Historically, beach closures in Rhode Island have been closely tied to precipitation. Stormwater runoff from roads, parking lots, and other impervious surfaces transport contamination (including bacteria) to our fresh and salt-water bodies. As demonstrated by the graph above, the correlation between rainfall and beach closures appears to be changing since 2009, when Phase I of the Narragansett Bay Commission's 'Combined Sewer Overflow Abatement Program' came online," according to the RIDOH.

RIDOH will continue to monitor and review beach water quality through Labor Day. The status of a beach may change as new data become available. The most up-to-date beach information is available through a recorded message on RIDOH’s beaches telephone line (401-222-2751). A list of closed beaches can also be accessed at https://health.ri.gov/data/beaches/