Save the Sound releases report card for beaches along the Long Island Sound
Manorhaven Beach in North Hempstead and Beekman Beach in Oyster Bay received low grades for persistent water quality issues.
Jun 21, 2023, 5:20 PM
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The nonprofit Save the Sound released its biennial beach report card Wednesday, revealing the results from three years of water quality monitoring along the Long Island Sound.
Seventy-eight percent of beaches received "A" or "B" grades, with just 22% receiving "C" grades or worse.
Manorhaven Beach in North Hempstead and Beekman Beach in Oyster Bay received low grades for persistent water quality issues.
"We do know what the challenges are - it's wastewater, it's storm water," says David Ansel, of Save the Sound. "But the good news is we know what the solution are - preparing infrastructure for sewer and septic systems, finding opportunities for nature-based solutions like rain guards and bioswales."
Those were some of the improvements made by officials at Sunken Meadow Beach when it received a low grade from Save the Sound.
New York State Parks Regional Director George Gorman says a $3 million project to retrofit Sunken Meadow's parking has helped reduce storm water runoff at the beach.
"Because of the bacterial counts we've had to close on and off through the years, but in recent years because of these improvements it's become minimal," Gorman says.
Save the Sound says Sunken Meadow is a good example of how a beach can turn the tide on poor water quality.
