Heading to your favorite CT beach on Memorial Day? Here are some of the cleanest on the Sound.
The annual report grades over 200 of Connecticut's public beaches and is prepared by Save the Sound, an environmental nonprofit, that seeks to protect the Sound through both legislative and legal action.
Each beach's grade is based on 2024 water quality data that local health departments gathered and submitted to the Environmental Protection Agency's water quality database, Save the Sound said. Among the most common reason beaches receive a bad grade is due to the presence of the bacteria Enterococcus, which alerts to the presence of fecal matter in water. The bacteria is used to determine whether the water quality at a given saltwater beach is safe for swimming.
When Enterococci levels in water samples exceed the state-established criteria, beaches must close until levels are safe, according to the report. The bacteria can expose swimmers to pathogens that can cause a variety of symptoms and could result in illnesses of the upper respiratory tract and hepatitis, as well as minor skin eye, ear, nose and throat irritations.
'This report is not meant to be how the beach water quality is today,' said Save the Sound's Peter Linderoth, director of healthy waters and lands. 'It is important for people to recognize that local and regional health departments and municipalities manage whether a beach is open, closed or under advisory for any given day. But people can pick up this report and see how their beach has been performing in respect to water quality and how it relates to human health for several years. It can help inform people so they can make decisions on where they want to go.'
Despite some beaches being poorly rated, the report listed overall good news for Connecticut beaches. In total, 72% of the Long Island Sound beaches monitored earned 'A' or 'B' grades for water quality, according to the report. Only a handful of Connecticut and New York beaches received grades of less than a 'B.'
'While that's still good, there's certainly room for improvement,' Linderoth said. 'Because from the last beach report that actually is a slide backwards. In 2023, 78% of the beaches received an 'A' or 'B' grade. So it just goes to show that better management of stormwater runoff is definitely one of the solutions to improving beach water quality.'
Some of the lowest scoring beaches in Connecticut include Byram Park Beach in Greenwich and Harbor Island Beach in Mamoroneck, New York which both earned a 'D' rating. Seabluff Beach in West Haven scored a 'C-,' according to the group. Other beaches like Green Harbor Beach in New London and Sasco Beach in Fairfield both scored a 'C' rating. Short Beach in Stratford scored a 'C+.'
'If you see your favorite beach's name on the list of lowest-scoring public beaches in the region, or if you see consistent yellow, orange or red boxes in the grids of grades in the back half of the beach report, don't be alarmed. Consider it an opportunity to learn more about a potential problem your community might not have been aware of and a place to take action,' the report said.
Among the highest scoring Connecticut beaches, nearly all of them are located in New London and New Haven counties. Beaches earn their way onto the top graded lists by maintaining the highest water quality grades over the last three swimming seasons, according to the report's grading criteria. All of the state's highest scoring beaches can be found 'from Madison down to the southeasternmost corner of the state,' the report says.
Eastern Point Beach in Groton, East and West Wharf Beaches in Madison, Surf Club Beach in Madison, Westbrook Town Beach in Westbrook, Ocean Beach Park in New London, Hammonasset Beach State Park in Madison, and duBois Beach in Stonington all received an 'A+' grade. Noank Dock in Groton and White Sands Beach in Old Lyme both received an 'A' grade.
The Westbrook Town Beach is the only beach with a 10-year streak of A+ grades. None of the 149 water samples taken at Westbrook since 2015 failed to meet the state's safe-swimming standards, according to the report.
'There's likely less to no direct stormwater being discharged near Westbrook Beach and the area is probably not developed that intensely,' Linderoth said. 'In addition, wastewater comes into play too here. Sewer infrastructure and pipes underground are probably well maintained, and septic tanks nearby are well maintained and pumped frequently, so they operate effectively and don't release sewage into our waters.'
The report also raises concerns about the water quality impacts of rain events driven by climate change, noting an increase in 'lost beach days,' and wet weather sample failures, particularly in the western Long Island Sound. An increase in sample failures was even noted in several eastern Sound beaches, according to the report.
After a rainstorm, beaches typically experience a decline in water quality, due to water runoff. Runoff often carries pollutants from land into waterways and water can pick up bacteria, sediments, fertilizers and other contaminants, impacting the clarity and safety of the water. Wet weather samples around the Sound failed 13.5% of the time this year, up from 11.0% in 2020–22, according to the report. During dry weather, samples overall failed 5.1% of the time, an increase from 4.2% in the 2023 report.
Over the last three swimming seasons, wet weather fails jumped in part due to the significant increase in failure rate in the westernmost region of the Sound that combines Westchester County in New York and New York City from 14.9% in 2020–22, to 20.8% in 2022–24, according to data in the report. The report cites that the wet weather failure rate for 2024 was the highest reported in any region in the history of the nonprofit's beach reports, dating back to the three-year period from 2016 to 2018. Linderoth said that the westernmost region of the Sound has both the highest population density and combined sewer overflows, leading to poorer water quality. CSO's allow for untreated sewage to be released during rainfall events, preventing backup into homes or businesses. While Connecticut has several CSO's including in Norwich, the New York City area has far more that leech into the Sound, he said.
The report also attributes the wet weather failures to the amount of rainfall over the last three years. A total of 22 inches fell around the region in 2024. The state has averaged 18.3 inches over the last three years, which matches the highest three-year total since 2011–13, the report said. Linderoth said climate change producing more intense storms is a primary concern.
'We really encourage people to pick up the beach report and use it as an advocacy tool to start discussions with local officials on how they can improve water quality or maintain it if they're happy with their grade,' Linderoth said. 'We are also more than happy talk with people about the report and facilitate discussions with local officials on how to improve water quality.'
For a complete list of grades for Connecticut beaches visit engage.savethesound.org. More information on Save the Sound can be found on their website at savethesound.org.
Stephen Underwood can be reached at sunderwood@courant.com.
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