SWAMPSCOTT — A joint meeting will be held between the town and the city of Lynn to give updates regarding the ongoing efforts to make King’s Beach safe for public recreation.
The meeting will be Tuesday at 5:30 p.m. at Memorial Auditorium in Lynn City Hall. Aside from Lynn Mayor Jared C. Nicholson and Swampscott’s Interim Town Administrator and Director of the Department of Public Works (DPW) Gino Cresta, other speakers include representatives of the Lynn Water & Sewer Commission, engineering consultants, the state and federal delegation, Department of Conservation and Recreation (DCR), Department of Environmental Protection (DEP), and Save the Harbor/Save the Bay.
There will be an opportunity for attendees to ask questions.
During the meeting, speakers will cover the Illicit Discharge Detection and Elimination (IDDE) program, with the goal of eliminating illicit connections or flows into the stormwater system to reduce contamination in Stacey Brook, which subsequently flows into King’s Beach.
While IDDE is the primary strategy for both communities to reduce pollution, numerous uncertainties such as timing, effectiveness of source elimination, the two entities also evaluated different ways to attack the problem — namely the agreed upon ultraviolet (UV) pilot program to kill bacteria in the water, which will run from June until August. In 2024, Lynn and Swampscott performed laboratory-scale testing of UV and learned that the technology was effective in mitigating the bacteria in stormwater to levels safe for recreation.
The elevated bacteria levels at King’s Beach are the result of drainage flowing into the beach from the two outfalls located at the Lynn-Swampscott line near Eastern Avenue, Lynn Shore Drive, and Humphrey Street.
“We are hopeful that the U.V. method could serve as a solution to a problem that has affected the beach for many years,” Nicholson said. “There are still many questions, but this next step, which is only a pilot, will help us start to answer more of them. We appreciate the partnership with Swampscott as we work on making the beach again a place that residents in both communities can enjoy.”
“Swampscott remains committed to doing our part to alleviate this problem at King’s Beach that affects our community and Lynn,” Cresta said. “We have been in constant communication with Lynn city officials on this issue and look forward to seeing the results of this UV pilot program as we seek a long-term solution.”
“I’m grateful for the hard work and collaboration of both communities, state officials, the legislative delegation, and many residents,” State Sen. Brendan Crighton said. “Working together on this pilot program is a critical first step in ensuring we move towards a solution that both protects the environment and eliminates bacterial contamination at King’s Beach.”
“Sharing information, answering questions, and listening to a variety of voices are all critical to the process of addressing the pollution at Kings Beach,” State Rep. Jenny Armini said. “I’m proud of how our communities have come together to solve this problem — a shining example in a divisive moment.”
More information on the King’s Beach issue can be found at lynnma.gov/community/king_s_beach
