In the past week I went on two patrols of the Sound with local fishermen and Sound enthusiasts. Getting out on the water with local boaters is the best way to explore the many local treasures along our coastline and to learn about community concerns, challenges and opportunities.
Prompt action by a Save the Sound volunteer and the Westchester County Department of Environmental Facilities resulted in a repair to a manhole had spilled raw sewage into Marshlands Conservancy nature sanctuary last month.
Sunday, June 8: The beaches are open today. Enjoy! The water quality is fine at Westchester’s Long Island Sound beaches, and they are open for swimming today, Saturday, June 7.
Sunday, June 1, 2014: The beaches in Westchester are open and the water is fine! Saturday, May 31, 2014: The water at the Long Island Sound beaches in Westchester is clean and the beaches are open today. So if you don’t mind cool and breezy temperatures, and cool water, enjoy!
Planning a trip to Westchester’s Long Island Sound beaches is an iffy proposition. Pollution shuts some of them regularly. Others almost never close. All are threatened by occasional and unexpected sewage mishaps.
Update Monday, May 26: No rain means safe swimming, so enjoy the beach. High tide is late morning. Plenty of sun but the water is still cold!
The biggest success of our water quality testing in Mamaroneck last summer was the discovery of a broken sewer pipe that was leaking raw sewage into Otter Creek, near where it empties into Mamaroneck Harbor.
The scores of beach closings at Westchester County’s Long Island Sound beaches over the summer caught the attention recently of a civic group called the Larchmont Mamaroneck Local Summit, which organized its monthly breakfast discussion for October around the topic.
