Suffolk County bathing beaches close over high bacteria count
Tanner Park Beach in Copiague, above, and several Rocky Point-area beaches will remain closed until further notice because of excessive levels of bacteria in the water, the Suffolk health department said Wednesday. Credit: Marisol Diaz-Gordon
The Suffolk County health department announced the closure of several Rocky Point-area bathing beaches Wednesday because of excessive bacteria levels in the water.
Three Rocky Point beaches — Tides Beach Property Owners Association Beach, Beech Road Beach and Terraces on the Sound beach — and a pair of Sound Beach locales — Sound Beach Property Owners Association Beach East and West — have closed after routine testing revealed bacteria levels that exceeded acceptable criteria, according to the health department.
Suffolk County Commissioner of Health Dr. Gregson Pigott warned that bathing in bacteria-contaminated waters can result in gastrointestinal illness, as well as infections of the eyes, ears, nose and throat.
On Saturday. Tanner Park Beach in Copiague closed due to excessive bacteria levels. County health officials said Wednesday the Copiague beach will remain closed.
In 2022, Tanner Park was among the 10 beaches throughout New York State that most frequently tested positive for bacteria associated with potentially harmful fecal contamination, Newsday previously reported. Tanner Park had potentially unsafe bacteria levels nearly half of all testing days, Newsday reported at the time.
On its website, the health department lists stormwater runoff and resident populations of waterfowl as prime sources of contamination, but also cites, in certain areas, the effects of "boats, residential septic systems, sewage treatment plants, and limited tidal flushing."
In Nassau County, health officials have closed Biltmore Beach in Massapequa and Crescent Beach in Glen Cove, also due to excessive bacteria levels.
Health officials in both counties said the closed beaches will reopen when testing shows the bacteria have subsided to acceptable levels. Test results are listed on the New York State beach monitoring website.
A Newsday investigation published last month found that beach closings and unsafe water advisories have increased since 2013.
For the latest updates on closures and advisories, call the Suffolk County Bathing Beach hotline at 631-852-5822, or visit the state's beach monitoring site.
'I'm going to try to avoid it' A trip to the emergency room in a Long Island hospital now averages nearly 4 hours, data shows. NewsdayTV's Virginia Huie reports.
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