WORCESTER, Mass. — Heavy rain on July 4th likely contributed to the closure of two beaches in Worcester Wednesday: Coes Pond Beach and Shore Park Beach. Both reopened Thursday after testing found E. coli levels dropped to an acceptable level.
Beach closures because of bacterial contamination are relatively common in the U.S. In fact, a new report from Environment Massachusetts Research and Policy Center found that last year E. coli levels forced the closure, for at least one day, 55% of the nation’s nearly 3,200 tested beaches.
E. Coli is associated with fecal contamination.
“We can say there are a number of troubling trends,” said John Rumpler, Clean Water Director for the group. “We still have sprawling development, which means more roads and parking lots.”
Such hard surfaces are impervious to water — so they increase runoff.
And then there is climate change. The warming of the earth is producing moisture-rich storms which can dump several inches of rain in hours. More rain equals more runoff into aging sewer systems which then overflow.
“The good news is that we know how to fix this problem,” Rumpler said. “We know how to repair our sewage infrastructure and absorb stormwater.”
It all takes money, of course — and that is why Rumpler was encouraged by passage of the bipartisan Infrastructure Bill — which he called an important step in the right direction.
“It injected an additional $12.7 billion into the Clean Water State Revolving Fund, the largest federal source of funding for cities and towns to control sewage and runoff pollution,” he said.
But it is only a step.
“EPA (Environmental Protection Agency) projects that communities are going to need upwards of $271 billion to really fix their wastewater problems,” Rumpler said. “So there’s a lot more that we need to do.”
Rumpler said Massachusetts is a good example of a “mission accomplished” when it comes to reviving polluted waterways. Case in point: the Deer Island sewage treatment plant, which helped lead to the clean-up of Boston Harbor.
Still, issues remain along the coast. The report cites five beaches with the biggest E. coli problems in the state. Leading the list is Kings Beach in Swampscott, which tested over the safe bacterial limit 63% of the 96 times it was sampled last year. Others on the list include three sections of Wollaston Beach and Tenean Beach.
While the report only looked at saltwater beaches, inland bodies of water have problems with pollution, too.
Warren Desrosiers is a lifelong Worcester resident. He remembers going to Coes Pond Beach with his parents as a kid — but doesn’t remember any time back then the beach was closed because of E. coli.
“If they tested it and everything’s good, yes, I’ll go in,” Desrosiers said, minutes before diving in. “But you don’t want someone going in the water and getting sick. A little kid swallows that contaminated water, he’s going to get sick.”
Adam Sears and friends Leland Wheeler and Tristan Lewin came to Shore Park Beach Thursday because they can’t find a decent place to swim back in the Fitchburg area.
“We try to go swimming pretty much all the time,” Sears said. “But we can’t because all of our lakes they’re all closed because of bacteria levels and all that. They’re just nasty.”
Lewin is just grateful they test for E. coli.
“That’s probably a good thing,” he said. “You all don’t want to be swimming in feces.”
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