SWAMPSCOTT — The Board of Health voted unanimously to authorize Director of Public Health Jeffrey Vaughan to post physical advisories at the town’s beaches based on daily bacteria-testing results on Friday.
Earlier this month, the Water and Sewer Advisory Committee partnered with the Department of Public Works to test Fisherman’s Beach for Enterococci bacteria daily from five different locations. Results are available on a new water-quality dashboard on the town’s website with a one-day delay.
“There are many people who come and use our beaches who are not residents, and I’m sure there are many residents in town that don’t look at the website on a regular basis,” Board of Health Chair Peter Sheckman said, advocating for some form of advisory signage.
Sheckman suggested posting flags at the beaches that indicate whether it is safe to swim, which would be signified by the color of the flag. However, Town Administrator Sean Fitzgerald said that the town should provide as much detail as possible in the advisory.
“I do think signs that have information on them that explain exactly what we’re doing, perhaps even a graphic with the website and the locations of where the testing locations are, will help folks be more informed,” Fitzgerald said.
Board member Gargi Cooper proposed the idea of having the signs include a QR code that could take residents to the online dashboard.
Currently, Fisherman’s Beach is the only beach being tested daily in Swampscott. However, Fitzgerald said that the town is planning to test Eisman’s Beach, Phillips Beach, and Whales Beach daily as well. The signage approved by the Board of Health will include those beaches once they begin getting tested.
“I think we have a large number of folks that seek to catastrophize and sensationalize,” Fitzgerald said about the pollution of local beaches. “We’ve got to kind of tamper that down so people can just make common-sense decisions.”
According to Cooper, the board will work on a draft of the sign and review it at its next meeting.
