Community Corner

UPDATED: Wet Weather Could Prompt Beach Closings

The town's public health director recommends staying out of the water at the beach for 24-48 hours after a heavy rain.

A sign warning that swimming may cause illness sits at the ready in the town director's office.

The director, Jeff Vaughan, will collect samples of shore water at Swampscott's six beaches on Wednesday, filling vials a foot from the surface in water three feet deep.

He expects that when he gets the sample results back from the lab 24 hours later they will indicate elevated levels of the bacteria indicator enterococci.

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"I'm expecting to put up some signs this week," he said.

The signs read: WARNING and NO SWIMMING.

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Swimming in water with elevated bacteria levels may cause ear aches and cramps and diarrhea, he said.

The town has grant money to test for bacteria once a week, on Wednesdays, from mid-June to Labor Day.

As a rule of thumb, Vaughan recommends that people stay out of the water for 24-48 hours after a heavy rain.

A heavy rain may fall on a Saturday and lead to elevated bacteria levels that go undetected on Sunday.

That's because testing is only done on Wednesdays, in keeping with regulations tied to grant funding for the testing.

It's for this reason that the director recommends staying out of the water after heavy rain.

So far this summer, testing has prompted Vaughan to close one beach, King's Beach, for one day in June, the 24th, and several days recently.

After last week's rain on Tuesday night and Wednesday morning, Vaughan posted no swimming signs at King’s, Eisemans, Phillips and Preston beaches, he said.

The signs were removed Friday night after re-test results came back clean, the director said.

Vaughan suspects the elevated levels were a result of stormwater flowing from outfall pipes to the shore.

Also, the large concentration of shore birds at King's Beach, and their waste, may contribute to elevated bacteria levels, he said.

Recently, beaches in other towns, including Marblehead, have been closed due to high bacteria levels.

Vaughan has his plastic vials ready. His signs, too. 

On Monday, Swampscott received 1.64 inches of rain, according to the Swampscott weather website.


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