News
Environmental groups gather to release beach data
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Jul 29, 2010 - 11:58 AM

Save the Sound, a program of Connecticut Fund for the Environment (CFE), joined by Environment Connecticut, Audubon Connecticut, Citizens Campaign for the Environment, Senator Ed Meyer, Representative Lonnie Reed, aides from the Congressional offices of Rosa DeLauro, Jim Himes and Joe Courtney, and other state and local officials, gathered at Parker Memorial Park in Branford yesterday to release the Natural Resources Defense Council’s 2010 Testing the Waters report.

This annual report examines national water quality and beach closings data for 2009, breaking down the information state-by-state and beach-by-beach. Environmental advocates and officials are releasing this year’s figures for Connecticut, which saw a decrease in beach closings and advisories in 2009 to 108 days, down from 135 closings and advisory days in 2008.

“This report makes clear that Connecticut still has a way to go before it can ensure clean water along our coast,” said Charles Rothenberger, staff attorney for CFE/Save the Sound. “The state’s significant reinvestment in the Clean Water Fund and Congress’ move to include substantial improvements to the Long Island Sound Restoration Act are steps in the right direction. But we need to leverage this momentum if we are to enjoy long term benefits of cleaner water for swimmers, boaters, and the marine trades. Until then we will continue to be forced to rely on the goodwill of Mother Nature, not good policy, to dictate whether our beaches are open or closed.”

“When families head to the beach, they shouldn’t have to worry about swimming in polluted water that can make them sick,” said Environment Connecticut Program Director Christopher Phelps. “The best way to protect our beaches from pollution is to prevent it. Federal, state and local governments need to redouble their commitment to reducing stormwater, sewage and other sources of pollution that foul waters such as Long Island Sound.”

Factoring out a wildlife anomaly in 2008, Connecticut beaches have been closed or carried posted advisories for 108 days for the past three years in a row, demonstrating that the state has been unable to make significant progress in reducing the health threat facing the swimmers and boaters who want to enjoy the state’s waterways. The great majority, 81 percent, of beach closures and posted advisories reported in 2009 were due to stormwater contamination, a condition that can be mitigated through investment in sewer infrastructure upgrades and stormwater management techniques like green infrastructure and landscaping. Other unknown sources of contamination account for the remaining 19 percent of beach closures and advisory days.

“For the past two years Connecticut has stood still in the top 25 percent of states as far as water quality is concerned. That’s not good enough,” said state Senator Ed Meyer (D-Guilford), who is Senate Chairman of the legislature’s Environment Committee. “We owe it to the citizens of this state and to future generations to work harder, to seek more state and federal funding for clean water projects, and to reduce the annual number of beach closings to zero. Only then will we have accomplished our mission. This is a true quality of life priority.”

“Like the Gulf, Long Island Sound is central to our way of life in Connecticut,” said Sandy Breslin, Director of Governmental Affairs for Audubon Connecticut, the state organization of the National Audubon Society. “Unlike the Gulf, we know how to stop the Sound’s pollution. Sustained state and federal investments in clean water are the key to making sure Long Island Sound remains a summer refuge for people and wildlife.”

Polluted stormwater runoff is also a contributing factor in the Sound’s “dead zone,” a growing area in the western portion of the Sound where oxygen deprivation is stressing marine animals and flora. Long Island Sound is an eight-billion-dollar regional economy in which the marine trades play a major role—for businesses that depend upon a thriving and healthy waterway, hypoxia is a key concern as it signals an inability of the marine environment to sustain life.

“This decrease in beach closings is good news for Connecticut’s beach goers and businesses alike, but we still have more work to do,” said Congressman Jim Himes. “As an active shell fisherman, rower, and general environmentalist, I am committed to continuing to seek both legislative and local opportunities to help improve the quality of our water.”

NRDC analyzed Connecticut Department of Health data for 65 beaches monitored by the state and municipalities. Connecticut slipped from its 12th place ranking last year to 13th in the nation for the percentage of tests that exceeded national standards, with five percent of those tests failing to meet standards set for bacteria.

“The 2010 Testing the Waters report highlights a clear need to continually reduce polluted run-off to keep our beaches open and healthy. We must remember that if it is on the ground, it flows to the Sound,” said Brittany Ferenz, Citizens Campaign for the Environment CT Program Coordinator. “We have manageable solutions to these problems. Communities and individuals can invest in sensible green infrastructure projects to slow the flow, soak it in, and spread it out. These solutions are cheap, easy and effective.”

Attorney General Richard Blumenthal said, “This report is good news—fewer beach closings—but we must do much more. Better education and stronger enforcement are needed to further reduce runoff-borne bacteria that sicken Long Island Sound, threatening human health and habitat. Connecticut’s status as 13th in the nation is still bad news, but a marked improvement from 18th place in 2008.”

“Connecticut’s beaches are a great, affordable getaway where families can escape this year’s oppressive summer heat,” said Congressman Joe Courtney. “In the wake of the beach quality study, parents can rest easy, knowing our waters are constantly monitored by public health officials and are safe for their children. Save the Sound, NRDC and other agencies do a tremendous job of protecting our beaches and public health. Summer would be a lot hotter without their hard work.”

The full NRDC report can be found at www.nrdc.org.

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