Heavy rain prompts Suffolk County to advise against bathing at 63 beaches
Heavy rainfall across Long Island recently
prompted the Suffolk County Department of Health Services to issue an
advisory against bathing at 63 beaches.
Commissioner Dr. Gregson Pigott said that advisory includes “beaches
within and adjacent to various north shore embayments (Cold Spring Harbor,
Huntington Harbor and Bay, Centerport Harbor, Northport Harbor and Bay, Port
Jefferson Harbor Complex, and Stony Brook Harbor), along the northern shoreline
of the Great South Bay, Sag Harbor, and those Long Island Sound beaches that
are directly impacted by nearby storm water discharges.”
According to the commissioner, the advisory is based on the “potential
that bacterial numbers in excess of New York State standards, resulting from
the heavy rain, will impact these areas.”
The department is recommending bathers wait for “two
successive tidal cycles” before entering the water again, or at least 24 hours.
The state has an interactive map that shows the scope of the
advisories across the island. It can be found here.