BOSTON (WHDH) - Environmental nonprofit Save the Harbor Save the Bay is raising questions about red flag water quality warnings at state beaches. The group said that the lengthy test turnaround times could lead to inaccuracy.
“The tests that we use, that the Department of Conservation and Recreation collects, and that the Department of Public Health uses are incredibly accurate. The challenge is that the results take 24 hours to get,” said Save the Harbor Save the Bay Executive Director Chris Mancini.
According to recent testing by the nonprofit, the lag in results means that by the time the state issues warnings, they could be inaccurate.
“By the time you get a result and you put the word out to say ‘hey be careful, there could be bacterial contamination that could cause illness,’ you already have a different water quality,” said Mancini.
The groups testing at Quincy’s Wollaston Beach showed that water quality warnings were wrong 87% of the time in 2020 and 64% of the time last year. The groups testing also said that warnings at East Boston’s Constitution Beach have also been inaccurate.
“When we did our preliminary analysis using Constitution Beach, we found that last year in 2021, 75% of the red flags warning people about the beaches were incorrect,” said Mancini.
Save the Harbor Save the Bay said that Massachusetts has some of the cleanest urban beaches in the country but more needs to be done to educate the public on the water testing process.
“Don’t be afraid of the beaches, but we need our folks to communicate this more clearly so people can have confidence in the flags,” said Mancini.
The Department of Public Health said local and state beach operators constantly monitor the water quality and notify DPH immediately if there is an issue.
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