Massachusetts Beach Bummer: 46 Spots Closed for Swimming

Massachusetts beach blues: a whopping 46 beaches are closed for swimming this Thursday. Why? Blame those pesky high bacteria levels, says the state's Department of Public Health (DPH). Summer kicked off with the Department of Conservation and Recreation opening 81 fabulous freshwater and saltwater beaches. Initially, only about 20 beaches faced closures at any time. But as of today, the closures soared, peaking now at 46. Testing the waters isn't a one-size-fits-all affair. Each beach has its own schedule, from daily to monthly checks, based on its water quality risk. If bacteria levels spike, they test until it's safe to dive back in. Here's the current Massachusetts beach no-swim list: Amherst: Puffers Pond (Factory Hollow Pond) Stanley Street swimming hole at Cushman Bridge Ashby: Damon Pond Beach Ashland: Ashland Reservoir-Main Beach Hopkinton Reservoir-Main Beach Boston: Malibu Tenean Clarksburg: Mauserts Pond Dartmouth: Moses Smith Creek Clipper Lane Follins Pond (Dennis) Gardner: Dunn Pond Greenfield: Greenfield Municipal Bathing Beach Hingham: Hingham Town Beach Lynn: Kings Lynn Shore Beach Nahant: Black Rock (Nahant) North Andover: Frye Pond Beach Pittsfield: Lulu Pond Beach Quincy: Broady (Baker) Rutland: Whitehall Pond Beach Scituate: Bassings Beach Shutesbury: Lake Wyola Taunton: Watsons Pond Templeton: Beamans Pond-Campground Beamans Pond-Day Use Townsend: Pearl Hill Pond Beach Wellfleet: Marconi (National Seashore) West Stockbridge: Card Pond Beach West Tisbury: Long Cove (Fresh) Seth's Pond Winchendon: Lake Dennison State Park Winchester: Shannon Beach @ Upper Mystic Worcester: Lake Quinsigamond-Regatta Point Beach Yarmouth: Vernon Street And it’s not just bacteria we’re worried about. Harmful cyanobacteria blooms have shut down: Ashland: Hopkinton Reservoir-Upper Beach Framingham: Waushakum Beach Oxford: Carbuncle Pond Plus, a few more beaches closed for other reasons: Braintree: Smith Beach Concord: Walden Pond-Red Cross Dartmouth: Hidden Bay Jones Town Beach North Jones Town Beach South Salem: Camp Naumkeag Swampscott: Kings Truro: Longnook Beach closures often follow a rainstorm, DPH tells us. Rain washes bacteria and nutrients from the land into the water, causing bacteria to multiply. Swimming in these waters can make you sick with symptoms like nausea, diarrhea, sore throats, skin rashes, and even flu-like symptoms. Most of these illnesses are minor, but kids, the elderly, and those with weak immune systems should be extra cautious.