An Environment Massachusetts Research and Policy Center report released on Wednesday, Aug. 6, revealed that more than half of all Massachusetts beaches attained an unsafe level of fecal bacteria in 2024.
According to the report, the 47 beaches in Massachusetts with the higher numbers of dangerous fecal bacteria pollution was distributed across the state’s coast. These locations included Boston, Buzzards Bay, Cape Cod, North Shore, South Shore, and the Islands.
“Our researchers looked at tests for bacteria that indicate the likely presence of fecal matter in the water,” said Devon Bell, associate with Environment Massachusetts, during a news conference covered by the Boston Herald. “They found that Constitution Beach had enough fecal matter indicator bacteria to put swimmers’ health at risk on 24% of days tested last year. And this was a widespread issue across the state.”…