This is a proposed updated Action Plan in the Buzzards Bay CCMP 2024 Update.

Protecting Public Health at Swimming Beaches

Problem

Public and private beaches are found throughout Buzzards Bay and its watershed and are an important recreational, aesthetic, and economic resource to residents and visitors, and an important source of revenue for municipalities, both in the collection of fees, and through the attraction of tourists.
Bathing beaches for many represent the only direct exposure or use of Buzzards Bay, and as such, the quality and condition of bathing beaches plays an important role in the public perception of the health and condition of Buzzards Bay. These bathing beaches also represent potential human exposure to contaminants discharged to surface waters. Of these contaminants, pathogens represent the most important potential threat to public health. Exposure to pathogens by bathers can occur either by direct contact with, or ingestion of, contaminated waters, and may result in illness.

This action plan identifies ways in which local and state government can minimize threats to human health from the risks of pathogen contamination at swimming beaches. The solution to the problems outlined in this action plan will require better designed testing, improved reporting, education of the public, and action to reduce the most serious forms of pollution.

Goals and Objectives

Changes: The goals and Objectives of this action plan are unchanged from the 2013 update.

Goal 19.1. Reduce or eliminate pollution sources contributing to beach closures.
Goal 19.2. Manage beach use to reduce human exposure and health risks based on site-specific conditions.
Objective 19.1. Reduce contaminated stormwater discharges to beach areas.
Objective 19.2. Increase public awareness about areas prone to contamination or conditions that may lead to elevated contaminant levels at beaches.
Objective 19.3. Prohibit pet use of beaches and encourage pet waste collection in stormwater drainage areas.
Objective 19.4. Develop and implement more rapid assays to document existing conditions, and where necessary implement preemptive rainfall closures.