Water: Beaches
Our WatersOceans, Coasts, Estuaries & BeachesBeachesConnecticut 2010 Swimming Season UpdateConnecticut 2010 Swimming Season Update
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May 2011
- Introduction
- 2010 Summary Results
- For More Information
- Print Version (PDF) (2 pp, 566K, About PDF) of this document
- Raw data (XLS) (1.2MB) for Connecticut
Introduction
Figure 1. Connecticut coastal counties.
The BEACH Act of 2000 requires that coastal and Great Lakes states and territories report to EPA on beach monitoring and notification data for their coastal recreation waters. The BEACH Act defines coastal recreation waters as the Great Lakes and coastal waters (including coastal estuaries) that states, territories, and authorized tribes officially recognize or designate for swimming, bathing, surfing, or similar activities in the water.
This fact sheet summarizes beach monitoring and notification data submitted to EPA by the State of Connecticut for the 2010 swimming season.
The Connecticut Department of Public Health collects beach monitoring data for 65 marine beaches located along its shoreline with Long Island Sound. Local health departments monitor 61 of these beaches. The Connecticut Department of Environmental Protection monitors the remaining four State Park marine beaches.
Connecticut has adopted a set of beach monitoring guidelines that are based on U.S. EPA standards for recreational bathing waters. These guidelines have been in effect since May 1989. They were revised most recently in April 2003.
Questions about a municipal beach should be directed to the shoreline local health department that monitors it. Questions about a State Park beach should be directed to the Connecticut Department of Environmental Protection.
| County | Total Beaches | Monitored | Not Monitored |
|---|---|---|---|
| Fairfield | 28 | 28 | 0 |
| Middlesex | 5 | 5 | 0 |
| New Haven | 19 | 19 | 0 |
| New London | 14 | 13 | 1 |
| Totals | 66 | 65 | 1 |
2010 Summary Results
How many notification actions were reported and how long were they?
Figure 2: Beach notification actions by duration.
When water quality standards are exceeded at a particular beach, Connecticut’s approach is to issue a beach advisory or closure to warn people to avoid contact with the ocean water. A total of 39 monitored beaches had at least one notification action issued during the 2010 swimming season. About 78 percent of Connecticut’s notification actions lasted two days or less. Figure 2 presents a full breakdown of notification action durations.
What percentage of days were beaches under a notification action?
Figure 3: Beach days with and without notification actions.
For Connecticut’s 2010 swimming season, actions were reported about 2 percent of the time (Figure 3).
How do 2010 results compare to previous years?
Table 2 compares 2009 notification action data with monitored beach data from previous years.
| Year | 2008 | 2009 | 2010 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Number of monitored beaches | 66 | 65 | 65 |
| Number of beaches affected by notification actions | 24 | 30 | 39 |
| Percentage of beaches affected by notification actions | 36% | 46% | 60% |
| Percentage of beach days affected by notification actions | 2% | 2% | 2% |
What pollution sources possibly affect investigated monitored beaches?
Figure 4 displays the percentage of Connecticut’s investigated monitored beaches possibly affected by various pollution sources. In 2009, 78 percent of the beaches included storm-related runoff as a possible source. No pollution sources were identified at 16 percent of the beaches.
Figure 4: Percent of investigated monitored beaches affected by possible pollution sources (55 beaches).
