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2007 Swimming Season Update
Massachusetts
July 2008
- Introduction
- 2007 Summary Results
- For More Information
- Print version (PDF) of this document (617 K, 2 pp.; About PDF)
- Raw data (MS-Excel) for Massachusetts (443 K)
Introduction
Figure 1. Massachusetts coastal counties with 2007 monitored beach data.
The BEACH Act of 2000 requires that coastal and Great Lakes states and territories report to EPA on beach monitoring and notification data for their coast recreation waters. The BEACH Act defines coastal recreation waters as the Great Lakes and coastal waters (including coastal estuaries) that states, territories, and authorized tribes officially recognize or designate for swimming, bathing, surfing, or similar activities in the water.
This fact sheet summarizes beach monitoring and notification data submitted to EPA by the state of Massachusetts for the 2007 swimming season.
| County | Total Beaches | Monitored | Not Monitored |
|---|---|---|---|
| Barnstable | 269 | 269 | 0 |
| Bristol | 30 | 30 | 0 |
| Dukes | 45 | 45 | 0 |
| Essex | 98 | 98 | 0 |
| Nantucket | 17 | 17 | 0 |
| Norfolk | 26 | 26 | 0 |
| Plymouth | 97 | 97 | 0 |
| Suffolk | 14 | 14 | 0 |
| Totals | 596 | 596 | 0 |
2007 Summary Results
How many notification actions were reported and how long were they?
Figure 2: Beach notification actions by duration.
Massachusetts' approach is to issue a beach advisory when water quality standards are exceeded at a particular beach that warns people to avoid contact with the ocean water. A total of 134 monitored beaches had at least one advisory issued during the 2007 swimming season. About 76 percent of Massachusetts' 227 notification actions lasted two days or less. Figure 2 presents a full breakdown of notification action durations.
What percentage of days were beaches under a notification action?
Figure 3: Beach days with and without notification actions in 2007.
For Massachusetts's 2007 swimming season, actions were reported about 1 percent of the time (Figure 3).
How do 2007 results compare to previous years?
Table 2 compares 2007 notification action data with monitored beach data from previous years.
| Year | 2005 | 2006 | 2007 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Number of monitored beaches | 780 | 621 | 596 |
| Number of beaches affected by notification actions | 134 | 154 | 134 |
| Percentage of beaches affected by notification actions | 17% | 25% | 22% |
| Percentage of beach days affected by notification actions | 1% | 2% | 1% |
What pollution sources affect monitored beaches?
Potential sources of pollution affecting Massachusetts' monitored beaches in 2007 are unknown (Figure 4).
Figure 4: Percent of monitored beaches potentially affected by pollution sources (596 beaches).
For More Information
Massachusetts's 2006 Beach Season Data | General information about beaches | Beaches in Massachusetts
or (617) 624-5757.
