SWAMPSCOTT — The town announced Monday that Fisherman’s Beach has been closed until further notice due to five days of Enterococcus bacteria testing that exceeded the state Department of Public Health’s limit.
The decision is based on staggered results gathered by Swampscott Public Health Director Jeffrey Vaughan on July 17, 24, 25, 31, and Aug. 1 in an area of the beach that is commonly used for swimming.
The DPH classifies an Enterococcus result higher than 104 units per 100 milliliters as potentially unsafe. The results from July 24 and 31 measured 187 and 246 units per 100 milliliters, respectively.
The Water and Sewer Advisory Committee recently partnered with the Department of Public Works to test Fisherman’s Beach daily from five different locations. Results are available on a new water-quality dashboard on the town’s website.
Committee Chair Elizabeth Smith said that the long-term test results were used to make the decision to close the beach, as opposed to the daily testing, due to the state’s requirement of calculating the geometric mean.
“It gives them a better idea of generally, ‘Is the water safe or is the water not safe?’” Smith said. “By testing Fisherman’s daily, we’re finding that the results are a little bit random… It’s a way to see what trend is happening and give an idea of when you might want to be more conservative about the beach.”
A red banner that warns about unsafe bacteria levels can be found at the beach. Based on the results, recent rainfall, and the standards of the geometric-mean measuring system, Smith expects it to be a “little while” before the beach will be cleared for reopening.
