Ask any 10 New Yorkers their favorite beach area and you’ll probably get 10 different answers. Whether they say Rye Playland, Coney Island or the Hamptons, many are probably heading for a dip on Labor Day weekend or later in September, weather permitting.
While beach visits can provide healthy doses of fresh air, outdoor exercise and vitamin D from the sun, they may also expose you and your family to waterborne illnesses. According to a new report called Safe for Swimming?, from Environment New York Research & Policy Center, fecal bacteria tainted the water on at least one day in 2024 at 59% of the beaches tested across New York state.
You can still have a relaxing day at the beach. It’s just important to be informed before you go–and to be careful while you’re there.
Here are several tips to help you stay safe and healthy during your beach vacation.
- Learn if your New York beach destination historically contains pollution.
States vary in how frequently and widely they test their beaches. But you can usually get at least some information about how often contaminated waters lapped up on your favorite beach last year.
Environment New York Research & Policy Center’s Safe for Swimming? dashboard contains data about the number of days in 2024 that each beach tested positive for potentially unsafe levels of fecal indicator bacteria. Scroll down and use the alphabetical dropdown menu to check out the data from the state that boasts your beach destination.
If your beach did routinely have unsafe pollution levels in 2024, that doesn’t mean it isn’t safe to swim today, this coming weekend or next week. To lessen your risk, follow the safety tips and recommendations below.
- Check for beach closures/ health advisories.
Before leaving home, make sure that your favorite beach spot is open for swimming. For example, at the time of this writing, the Suffolk County Health Department had shut down Benjamin’s Beach in Bay Shore.
For “one-stop shopping” for this type of information, we’ve created a simple tool with an alphabetical state-by-state drop down menu, including New York, of course.
If you find it difficult to locate up-to-date beach advisory and closure information online, try calling your local health department.
- After a heavy storm, avoid swimming at the beach for 72 hours.
Sometimes, heavy rain overwhelms sewer systems to the point of overflowing. That can send raw bacteria- and virus-laden sewage straight into bodies of water. While there’s no hard and fast rule, some public health officials suggest waiting three days after a heavy downpour to allow time for contaminants to disperse and dilute.
- Toxic algae can make you sick
Toxic algae blooms have become a big problem off the Long Island shore in recent decades. In addition, harmful blooms can contaminate inland lakes such as the Finger Lakes.
Toxic algae blooms happen when excess phosphorus — from livestock manure, sewage, or industrial sources — pollutes the water.
- Infections can happen anywhere
If existing health issues or medications mean you or a loved one has compromised immunity, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention suggests that you check with your healthcare provider before taking a dip.Swimming with exposed cuts or wounds is a bad idea. Contaminated water could infect them with germs. And everyone should always wash off with fresh water after a swim — in a natural body of water or a pool.
- Pollution sources upstream from your beach could contaminate the water
Some beach waters are significantly more prone to pollution than others, depending on nearby facilities that could impact water quality. May close attention to beach conditions downstream from sewage or stormwater outfall pipes, or farmland.
- Be street smart on the sand
When you get to the beach, look for posted signs that note warnings or closures. Whether the rationale is pollution, strong tides or any other reason — don’t ignore the sign. Even if the beach is open, if the water looks or smells funny, trust your eyes and nose. In general, the cloudier and dirtier the water, the more risky it is.
What’s making waters unsafe?
Want to take a deeper dive on beach bacteria and how we can prevent it? Check out the Safe for Swimming? report
Make our beaches safe for swimming
Clean water
Make our beaches safe for swimming
Stormwater runoff and sewage overflows are contaminating our beaches and putting swimmers’ health at risk.
Authors
John directs Environment America’s efforts to protect our rivers, lakes, streams and drinking water. John’s areas of expertise include lead and other toxic threats to drinking water, factory farms and agribusiness pollution, algal blooms, fracking and the federal Clean Water Act. He previously worked as a staff attorney for Alternatives for Community & Environment and Tobacco Control Resource Center. John lives in Brookline, Mass., with his family, where he enjoys cooking, running, playing tennis, chess and building sandcastles on the beach.
Emily is the senior director for state organizations for The Public Interest Network. She works nationwide with the state group directors for PIRG and Environment America to help them build stronger organizations and achieve greater success. Emily was the executive director for CALPIRG from 2009-2021, overseeing a myriad of CALPIRG campaigns to protect public health, protect consumers in the marketplace, and promote a robust democracy. Emily works in our Oakland, California, office, and loves camping, hiking, gardening and cooking with her family.
