What beaches are closed in Massachusetts due to bacteria? List explored as water quality is deemed unsafe 

Many beaches all across the Northeast have now been classified as dangerous, on account of increasing bacteria levels in the waters of Massachusetts and other surrounding states, as per the Massachusetts Department of Health. The department also declared that all ponds and waters mentioned in their list should have signs addressing the bacteria levels and cautioning swimmers.

Some places included in the list are Falmouth, Mashpee, Boston, Beverly, and many more.

Many well-known beaches in Revere and Boston were among the first to close down after inspection. These include the Tenean, Short, Savin Hill, Revere Beach, and Malibu.

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All the Massachusetts beaches that are closed due to the contamination

Below is a list of the regions, name, and type of the water bodies contaminated, and the reason behind their closing, as per the Massachusetts Department of Public Health's website.

Municipality	Beach	Beach Type	Posting Reason
Mashpee	Mashpee Shores Assoc.	Freshwater	Algae/Cyanobacteria Advisory
Mashpee	Santuit Pond - Bryants Neck	Freshwater	Algae/Cyanobacteria Advisory
Mashpee	Santuit Pond Estate Assoc.	Freshwater	Algae/Cyanobacteria Advisory
Mashpee	Santuit Pond - Town Landing	Freshwater	Algae/Cyanobacteria Advisory
Mashpee	Trustees of the Reservation (Mashpee Pond)	Freshwater	Algae/Cyanobacteria Advisory
Mashpee	Trustees of the Reservation (Wakeby Pond)	Freshwater	Algae/Cyanobacteria Advisory
Mashpee	Wakeby-Attaquin	Freshwater	Algae/Cyanobacteria Advisory
Mashpee	Wakeby Pond - Camp Farley	Freshwater	Algae/Cyanobacteria Advisory
Nantucket	Miacomet Pond	Freshwater	Algae/Cyanobacteria Advisory
Agawam	Robinson Pond Beach (DCR)	Freshwater	Bacterial Exceedance
Ashby	Damon Pond Beach (DCR)	Freshwater	Bacterial Exceedance
Ashland	Hopkinton Reservoir - Upper Beach (DCR)	Freshwater	Bacterial Exceedance
Athol	Ellis Beach	Freshwater	Bacterial Exceedance
Beverly	Brackenbury	Marine	Bacterial Exceedance
Beverly	Dane Street - Bathhouse	Marine	Bacterial Exceedance
Beverly	Mingo	Marine	Bacterial Exceedance
Beverly	Obear Park	Marine	Bacterial Exceedance
Beverly	Woodbury	Marine	Bacterial Exceedance
Boston	Constitution Beach (DCR)	Marine	Bacterial Exceedance
Boston	Malibu Beach (DCR)	Marine	Bacterial Exceedance
Boston	Savin Hill Beach (DCR)	Marine	Bacterial Exceedance
Boston	Tenean Beach (DCR)	Marine	Bacterial Exceedance
Brookfield	South Pond	Freshwater	Bacterial Exceedance
Charlemont	Cold River Pool (DCR)	Freshwater	Bacterial Exceedance
Chatham	Bucks Creek	Marine	Bacterial Exceedance
Clarksburg	Mauserts Pond (DCR)	Freshwater	Bacterial Exceedance
Concord	Silver Hill Association	Freshwater	Bacterial Exceedance
Dennis	Clipper Lane	Marine	Bacterial Exceedance
Dennis	Follins Pond	Marine	Bacterial Exceedance
Duxbury	Landing Road	Marine	Bacterial Exceedance
Duxbury	West End	Marine	Bacterial Exceedance
Falmouth	Old Silver - Public Beach North	Marine	Bacterial Exceedance
Framingham	Learned Pond Beach	Freshwater	Bacterial Exceedance
Framingham	Waushakum Beach	Freshwater	Bacterial Exceedance
Gardner	Dunn Pond (DCR)	Freshwater	Bacterial Exceedance
Hingham	Martin’s Cove	Marine	Bacterial Exceedance
Hingham	North Beach	Marine	Bacterial Exceedance
Lynn	Kings Beach (DCR)	Marine	Bacterial Exceedance
Lynn	Lynn Beach (DCR)	Marine	Bacterial Exceedance
Marshfield	Green Harbor	Marine	Bacterial Exceedance
Milton	Houghton’s Pond @ Bathhouse (DCR)	Freshwater	Bacterial Exceedance
Monterey	Benedict Pond Beach (DCR)	Freshwater	Bacterial Exceedance
Nahant	Black Rock	Marine	Bacterial Exceedance
Nahant	Nahant Beach (DCR)	Marine	Bacterial Exceedance
Quincy	Chikatawbot	Marine	Bacterial Exceedance
Quincy	Germantown Firestation	Marine	Bacterial Exceedance
Quincy	Wollaston Beach (DCR)	Marine	Bacterial Exceedance
Revere	Revere Beach (DCR)	Marine	Bacterial Exceedance
Revere	Short Beach (DCR)	Marine	Bacterial Exceedance
Salem	Ocean Avenue	Marine	Bacterial Exceedance
Salem	Steps	Marine	Bacterial Exceedance
Salem	Willow Avenue	Marine	Bacterial Exceedance
Saugus	Pearce Lake @ Breakheart Reservation (DCR)	Freshwater	Bacterial Exceedance
Southwick	South Pond Beach	Freshwater	Bacterial Exceedance
Sturbridge	Walker Pond - Main Beach	Freshwater	Bacterial Exceedance
Swampscott	Kings Beach	Marine	Bacterial Exceedance
Templeton	Beaman’s Pond - Campground (DCR)	Freshwater	Bacterial Exceedance
Templeton	Beaman’s Pond - Day Use Beach (DCR)	Freshwater	Bacterial Exceedance
Tisbury	Hilman’s Point	Marine	Bacterial Exceedance
Townsend	Pearl Hill Pond (DCR)	Freshwater	Bacterial Exceedance
Wareham	Forbes	Marine	Bacterial Exceedance
Wareham	Swift’s	Marine	Bacterial Exceedance
Westminster	Crow Hill Pond Beach (DCR)	Freshwater	Bacterial Exceedance
Winchendon	Lake Dennison - North Camp Beach (DCR)	Freshwater	Bacterial Exceedance
Winchester	Shannon Beach @ Upper Mystic (DCR)	Freshwater	Bacterial Exceedance
Winthrop	Donovans	Marine	Bacterial Exceedance
Winthrop	Halford	Marine	Bacterial Exceedance
Winthrop	Pico	Marine	Bacterial Exceedance
Winthrop	Winthrop Beach (DCR)	Marine	Bacterial Exceedance
Worcester	Lake Quinsigamond - Regatta Point (DCR)	Freshwater	Bacterial Exceedance

If someone catches an illness after swimming in the sites mentioned above, they would show respiratory and flu-like symptoms. The diseases may manifest in the form of a fever, irritation in the eye or ear, skin rashes, and even nausea.

People with a weaker immune system, like children and elders, are more susceptible to infections.

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How did the beaches get contaminated?

The notice reads that the beach may not be suitable for swimming due to high levels of bacteria (Image via Getty Images)

There are many speculations regarding what caused the contamination in the beaches. Experts believe that the recent change in weather and heavy downpour may be one of the reasons for the increase in bacteria.

Storms raise the water and ice levels around towns, bringing contaminations like sewage waste and animal droppings and agricultural runoffs, and so on, to the oceans. These can be harmful to the public who are interested in swimming on the beach.

The Massachusetts Department of Public Health (MDPH) stated that some "indicator organisms" or bacteria that can show harmful pathogens may be present in the waters. These indicator bacteria, E.coli and Enterococci, are used to test the presence of fecal matter present in the water.

Entercocci are bacteria that are found in the digestive tract of homeothermal organisms (humans and animals). According to the MDPH, freshwater is tested for the E.coli or Enterococci bacteria. However, marine waters are tested only for Enterococci.

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Regulations implemented by Massachusetts on beaches

The Massachusetts Department of Public Health (MDPH) declared that more than 1,100 water bodies are monitored by the state. Every beach (public or semi-public) is observed for indicators and opens for public use only after a designated period of time has passed.

Most of the water bodies are examined once a week following the guidelines set by the United States Environmental Protection Agency (US EPA).

A child and mother walking on the beach. (Image via Getty Images)

According to officials, nine water bodies in Massachusetts are being inspected for increased levels of Cynobacteria (also known as blue-green algae). The algae may create a poison called Cynotoxin, which can be harmful to people and other living beings.

The amount of times that a beach gets tested depends on the number of people who visit that beach. If the place is frequented a lot by visitors, it is monitored for bacteria more often.