Mass. beach closures: Over 40 beaches are closed on Wednesday, Aug. 13

The heat wave should be coming to an end soon, but state officials have closed off dozens of beaches across Massachusetts due to unhealthy waters.

On Wednesday, 43 beaches are closed off to the public in Massachusetts, according to the Massachusetts Department of Public Health (DPH). Most of these are because of high levels of bacteria that can make the waters unsafe for people and animals.

Other beaches across the state are closed off because of cyanobacteria blooms. These blooms consist of algae that produce toxins in the water that can be harmful to people and animals. These blooms have been detected in Centennial Grove in Essex, Cochituate State Park Beach in Natick and Crystal Lake in Newton.

Lastly, Walden Pond State Reservation's beach is closed as a summer-long construction continues on a new, state-of-the-art $6.1 million bathhouse that will last all of summer 2025. Red Cross Beach at Walden Pond will remain open with no lifeguards.

• Chelmsford: Freeman Lake — bacterial exceedance/harmful cyanobacteria bloom

• Chicopee: Chicopee Beach — bacterial exceedance

• Concord: main beach at Walden Pond — bathhouse construction

• Danvers: Sandy Beach — bacterial exceedance

• Dartmouth: Moses Smith Creek — bacterial exceedance

• Essex: Centennial Grove — harmful cyanobacteria bloom

• Framingham:Learned Pond Beach, Saxonville Beach — bacterial exceedance

• Georgetown: American Legion Park — bacterial exceedance

• Harwich: Seymour Pond — harmful cyanobacteria bloom

• Holden: Eagle Lake — bacterial exceedance

• Ipswich: Plum Island at Sandy Point — bacterial exceedance

• Lynn:King's Beach at Eastern Avenue, Kimball Road and Pierce Road — bacterial exceedance

• Mashpee: Santuit Pond at Bryants Neck and Town Landing — harmful cyanobacteria bloom

• Nantucket: Sesachacha Pond — bacterial exceedance

• Natick: Cochituate State Park Beach — harmful cyanobacteria bloom

  • Memorial Beach at Dug Pond — bacterial exceedance

• Newton: Crystal Lake — harmful cyanobacteria bloom

• North Andover: Center of Stevens Pond — bacterial exceedance

• Oxford: Carbuncle Pond — harmful cyanobacteria bloom

• Pittsfield: Lulu Pond Beach — bacterial exceedance

• Salem: Wally and the back end of Children's Island, Ocean Avenue and Willow Avenue — bacterial exceedance

• Saugus: Pearce Lake at Breakheart Reservation — bacterial exceedance

• Sharon: Community Center Beach — bacterial exceedance

• Southwick: South Pond Beach — bacterial exceedance

• Springfield: Camp Wilder Beach, right side — bacterial exceedance

  • Right sides of Bass Pond and Paddle Club — harmful cyanobacteria bloom

• Templeton: Beamans Pond, campground and day use — bacterial exceedance

• Townsend: Pearl Hill Bond Beach — bacterial exceedance

• Wareham: Shangri-La — harmful cyanobacteria bloom

• Webster:Lakeside, Memorial Beach Location 1 and Location 2 — harmful cyanobacteria bloom

• Westfield: Hampton Ponds at Kingsley Beach and Lamberts Beach — harmful cyanobacteria bloom

• Williamstown: Margaret Lindley Park — bacterial exceedance

• Wilmington: center and right sides of Wilmington Town Beach — bacterial exceedance

• Winchendon: North Camp Beach and day use beach at Lake Dennison State Park — bacterial exceedance

• Winthrop: Donovans Beach, Halford Beach — bacterial exceedance

What are the risks?

Swimming in beach water that has high levels of bacteria can be risky and can result in illnesses, including:

• Gastrointestinal symptoms- nausea, vomiting, diarrhea and abdominal pain

• Respiratory symptoms- sore throat, cough, runny nose and sneezing

• Dermatological symptoms- skin rash and itching

• Eye and ear symptoms- irritation, earache, itching

• Flu-like symptoms- fever and chills

Stay aware of any warnings or beach closures that indicate that the water is not safe. Check the weather forecast, avoid swimming after heavy rain, watch for signs of water pollution like discolored, fast flowing and strong smelling water, do not swim near trash or litter floating in the water, avoid swallowing the water and swim in areas designated as "swim beaches."

Although a beach could be posted, the public can still visit the location and take part in other activities that do not involve contact with the water. This can include anything from playing sports like volleyball or frisbee to sunbathing or collecting seashells or sea glass, DPH stated.

The public can also help to reduce contamination and pollution at the beach by:

• Cleaning up after pets

• Not feeding the birds as it encourages them to hang around the beaches, which increases fecal matter

• Using public restrooms

• Picking up and throwing away trash using public restrooms or properly disposing of it at home

• Not entering the water when sick or feeling unwell

• Changing diapers and putting plastic or rubber pants, known as swim diapers, on diapered children before they enter the water

• Not dumping anything down storm drains, as water moving through these drains does not get treated at a wastewater facility and flows directly into lakes and streams

• Avoiding the use of fertilizers and pesticides in yards since these chemicals can easily carry into the surface of waters during rain events and snowmelt

• Use walkways and avoid walking on dunes to prevent erosion and preserve vegetation that filters out pollutants from runoff before they reach the beach

More details from the DPH can be found here .

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Read the original article on MassLive .