Overview

• Health agencies posted no-swim alerts from Florida to Maine this week, with additional warnings and closures reported in California and Hawaii.
• Suffolk County closed Benjamin’s Beach in Bay Shore, Long Island, after tests exceeded allowable bacteria levels, with reopening dependent on new results.
• North Carolina listed five beach advisories in late August as heavy rain and Hurricane Erin’s effects contributed to elevated contamination.
• Officials use EPA-based thresholds to trigger advisories, with fecal bacteria at those levels linked to illness in about 32 of every 1,000 swimmers.
• Environment America’s 2024 report found nearly two-thirds of tested beaches had at least one unsafe day, underscoring a problem that persists into this season.