Winthrop’s Beaches are Perfect

Just in time for the unofficial beginning of summer, the Save The Harbor water quality ratings are out for area beaches and some fared better than others.

The scores are based on the average of the last six years as well as 2018 and cover beaches from Nahant to Nantasket.

Winthrop and Nahant Beaches received perfect scores on the report card for 2018 and scored 99 percent for the six-year average.

King’s Beach on the Lynn-Swampscott line got the lowest grade of 75 percent in 2018 and 83 percent on average, according to the 2019 Metropolitan Beaches Water Quality Report Card tallied by Save the Harbor/Save The Bay.

King’s Beach was tested 67 times with high bacteria out of 270 samples. Stormwater run-off pipes in Lynn fuel the bacteria.

“King’s Beach continues to lag behind other beaches,” Bruce Berman, of Save the Harbor/Save the Bay, said. “Though Lynn and Swampscott and Boston Water and Sewer continue to track down and correct illicit connections and broken pipes.”

He noted that swimming in water with high bacteria levels can cause rashes, eye infections, and gastrointestinal problems.

Revere Beach, America’s First Public Beach, received a score of 98 in 2018 and 97 percent overall. There was just one high bacteria count out of 60 samples.

Short Beach in Revere received a grade of 100 percent for 2018 and an overall score of 91 percent.

Overall the regional beaches of Boston Harbor received a score of 95 percent, just up from 2018’s 94 percent.

Data from the Massachusettts Department of Public Health is analyzed by Save the Harbor/Save The Bay to determine the percentages on the score card.

According to Save the Harbor/Save The Bay large rain events can impact the bacteria levels, and 2018 was one of the wettest on record with 61 inches of rainfall.