The beach-going season is over for many, as a bacterial outbreak forced the closure of dozens of beaches in Massachusetts and several in New Jersey.
But is your beach safe? Here's the latest on the cause of the beach closures, and how to check if it's safe to go to your favorite beach.
Which beaches are closed?
The Massachusetts Interactive Beach Water Quality Dashboard listed 32 beaches that are now closed, which include popular beaches in Amherst, Boston, Dartmouth and Salem.
In New Jersey, The Hopatcong State Park beach area in Landing closed last and Beachwood's Beach West is still closed.
Officials also closed Toms River in Ocean County earlier this month.
The US Army Corps of Engineers closed the beaches along Blue Marsh Lake in Pennsylvania in early June.
How to check if your beach is safe
Delaware, New Jersey, New York and Pennsylvania each have official online beach monitoring systems you can check with to see your beach's safety in real time.
The Environmental Protection Agency's beach advisory website allows you to search the status of any beach in the country.
What is causing the beach closures?
The beach closures are generally caused by one, or a combination of, three main factors: algal blooms, unhealthy enterococcus bacteria levels, and animal and human feces.
"Enterococcus bacteria can come from natural and human sources, and scientific studies show wildlife to be a major contributor," read Delaware's swimming advisory caution. "Wildlife, and the enterococcus bacteria they produce, are part of the natural ecosystem of many waterbodies throughout the state.
"Some waterbodies aren’t regularly flushed out by tides, so enterococcus bacteria lingers in the waters."
Damon C. Williams is a Philadelphia-based journalist reporting on trending topics across the Mid-Atlantic Region.
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