BOSTON (AP) A clean harbor advocacy group is giving strong grades to most Boston Harbor beaches in its second annual report card, but its also highlighting some problems. <\/p>\n
More than half of the 15 beaches graded by Save the Harbor\/Save the Bay scored either an A or A-plus in the report released Sunday. That means they were open at least nine out of 10 days last year. <\/p>\n
Three beaches, two in Revere and one in Winthrop, didnt shut down once. <\/p>\n
But Kings Beach, which straddles Swampscott and Lynn, and Tenean Beach in Boston filled out the bottom of the list, with Tenean Beach closed once every five days because of high fecal bacterial levels, which can cause illness. Still, those two beaches both improved from the previous year. <\/p>\n
Bruce Berman of Save the Harbor\/Save the Bay said last years dry weather, which reduced the flow of dirty storm water runoff, as well as pipe repairs helped continue a turnaround for Boston Harbor beaches. <\/p>\n
The foul conditions in Boston Harbor were once famous enough to be the focus of The Standells Boston tribute song, Dirty Water. But years of extensive cleanup, costing billions, has produced years of cleaner beaches. <\/p>\n
Just 25 years ago, these beaches were awash with human waste, Berman said. We should be proud of what we've done and be prepared to finish the job. <\/p>\n
This years report card, based on analysis of thousands of state water samples taken in 2012, said Winthrop Beach and Revere Beach and Short Beach in Revere were open every day of the beach season, between Memorial Day and Labor Day. <\/p>\n
State Rep. Kathi Reinstein of Revere said the perfect scores boost tourism and development and are important in a community where everyone calls their local beach my beach. <\/p>\n
There is incredible personal ownership of the beaches you grew up on, she said. And when it doesnt look good ... we hear about it. <\/p>\n
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See the article here: <\/p>\n
Report card grades Mass. beaches as season starts<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" BOSTON (AP) A clean harbor advocacy group is giving strong grades to most Boston Harbor beaches in its second annual report card, but its also highlighting some problems. More than half of the 15 beaches graded by Save the Harbor\/Save the Bay scored either an A or A-plus in the report released Sunday. That means they were open at least nine out of 10 days last year. Continue reading