Barnstable County Beach Monitoring Pass/Fail Results 2024

Barnstable County’s samplers officially began sampling beaches and analyzing the samples for fecal bacteria levels in the laboratory on Monday, June 3rd. Sampling occurs Monday through Thursday.

If any of the samples collected exceed the limit for fecal bacteria, the results will be posted on this page.

Beaches are sampled weekly, with the exception of any beaches that have received a variance from the state to be sampled monthly. Those beaches are specified for each town.

It’s important to remember that this program monitors recreational water for fecal bacteria ONLY. For cyanobacteria information and monitoring results, please visit the Association to Preserve Cape Cod’s website. To learn more about Barnstable County’s role in the region’s cyanobacteria monitoring efforts, please visit Cyanobacteria Monitoring on Cape Cod – Barnstable County.

Summary Beach Closures and Openings

Weeks of June 24th and July 1st

As specified in Massachusetts Bathing Beach Regulations 105.CMR.445.030 there are FOUR scenarios in which a beach can be posted CLOSED for swimming:

1.) Two samples of bathing water, collected on two consecutive days, both fail (exceed the single sample water quality standard).

2.) One sample of bathing water fails (exceeds the single sample water quality standard) when an additional sample is not collected on the following day*.

3.) One sample of bathing water fails (exceeds the single sample standard) at beaches where, in two or more of the last four full beach seasons, samples collected on two consecutive days both exceeded the single sample water quality standard (see table below: beaches to be posted closed after one exceedance).

4.) The geometric mean of the last five samples taken exceeds the geometric mean water quality standard. The geometric mean is a mean or average which indicates a central tendency of a data set by using the product of their values (as opposed to the arithmetic mean which uses their sum). An elevated geometric mean is an indicator for poor water quality over time.

*While all beaches that fail the routine sample are re-tested, in some cases it is logistically impractical or impossible for the beach to be re-sampled same-day. 

A beach will ONLY appear in the summary table below if the health agent has been notified that a beach has met one of the four conditions for CLOSURE, listed above.


Number of Beaches Currently Posted Due to Fecal Bacteria: 8


 

Town BeachDate of Failure Re-test Result (Pass/Fail) 2nd Re-test Result (Pass/Fail)
DennisClipper Lane6/24FAIL (6/25 re-test)FAIL (6/27 and 6/28 Re-test; GEOMETRIC MEAN FAILURE)
YarmouthColonial Acres West6/24 FAIL (6/25 re-test; 6/27 Re-test result pending)FAIL (6/27 and 6/28 Re-test; GEOMETRIC MEAN FAILURE)
YarmouthWindmill Beach6/25Unable to collect 6/26 re-test; 6/27 re-test results pending.FAIL (6/27 and 6/28 Re-test; GEOMETRIC MEAN FAILURE)
ChathamBuck's Creek6/266/27 re-test results pending.FAIL (6/27 and 6/28 Re-test; GEOMETRIC MEAN FAILURE)
ChathamOyster Pond6/26GEOMETRIC MEAN FAILURE FAIL (6/27 and 6/28 Re-test; GEOMETRIC MEAN FAILURE)
NantucketWashington Street6/25FAIL (6/26 re-test)FAIL (6/27 and 6/28 Re-test; GEOMETRIC MEAN FAILURE)
YarmouthVernon Street7/1GEOMETRIC MEAN FAILURE; 7/2 Re-test result pending---
DennisFollins Pond7/1GEOMETRIC MEAN FAILURE; 7/2 Re-test result pending---

Hang in there! It may take a moment for the dashboard to load.

Dashboard Built by Adtitude Digital

When you see “fail” in the dashboard, be sure to refer to the ‘Summary of Beach Closures and Openings’ and the four conditions for beach closure listed above. A sample failure does not always result in a beach closure.

Welcome to our new Interactive Beach Monitoring Program Data Dashboard!

We’ve been working hard to improve our beach monitoring database to allow for quick and easy navigation. You can now interact with the data to zero in on the information most relevant to you.

Navigating the dashboard is easy; simply follow the steps indicated below.

Step 1: Select a town. Selected towns will appear highlighted in blue. You can select one town or all towns. The data window will appear empty until a selection is made. To deselect a town, simply click on it a second time and it will no longer appear highlighted in blue.

Step 2: Select a beach from the drop down in the bottom right-hand corner. Once you have selected a town(s), the beaches monitored for that town will appear on the list. To select a beach or beaches, simply click the squares to the left of the beach name. You can select one or multiple beaches.

Step 3: Select a date or dates from the tiles located at the bottom of the page. Once you make a selection, the tile will appear shaded black. NOTE: Once a beach is selected, the database will only show the dates that beach was sampled. Remember, we sample beaches either weekly or monthly as indicated in the table.

Filtering the Data

You can sort the data by clicking or hovering over the column headers and selecting the triangular arrows. For example, you can sort the data by date to show the newest samples first and the oldest samples last and vice versa. A right side up triangle will show older data first, while a second click will reveal an upside-down triangle, which indicates that newer data is shown first.

Please note! While our program does provide monitoring to semi-public beaches (homeowner’s associations, hotels, etc.), only public beaches are displayed here.

Troubleshooting

If you’re having trouble seeing any aspect of the data, try hovering your finger or mouse over the dashboard and “scrolling” up, down, left, or right.

Text too small to read? If you are working at a desktop or laptop computer, press Ctrl + to zoom in. If you are viewing the data from a mobile phone, try the horizontal view.

Questions? Comments?

We want to hear from you! We’re constantly working to improve communication and information sharing with the public. Please let us know if you have any suggestions to help up improve this interactive data experience by emailing us at bch.info@capecod.gov!

Beaches to be Posted Closed after One Exceedance

TownBeach NameMarine/Fresh
BarnstableKeyesMarine
BrewsterFirst LightMarine
ChathamBuck's CreekMarine
DennisClipper LaneMarine
ProvincetownTown Landing (West of Coast Guard)Marine

Some towns have requested a variance for beaches that have a history of clean water quality. Variances allow for monthly testing as opposed to weekly testing, as long as the beach has met specific water quality and inspectional criteria described in the regulations. To learn more about varianced beaches, visit: Massachusetts Bathing Beach Regulations

If, at any time, a sample taken at a varianced beach fails, the beach will automatically lose its status and become ineligible for reinstatement until it has achieved 2+ years of clean monitoring data (monitoring during this time must take place weekly).

Beaches with variances approved by the Massachusetts Department of Public Health include the following:

TownBeachVariance Status
BourneMonument BeachActive
HarwichPleasant Bay/Route 28 Active
HarwichBrooks Road BeachActive
HarwichEarle Road BeachActive
HarwichNeel Road Beach Active
HarwichWah Wah Taysee RoadActive
MashpeeCallie's BeachActive
NantucketCliffsideActive
TruroBallston BeachActive
TruroCoast Guard Town BeachActive
TruroCold Storage/Pond VillageActive
TruroCorn HillActive
TruroFisher BeachActive
TruroGreat HollowActive
TruroHead of the Meadow (Town Beach)Active
TruroLong NookActive
TruroRyder BeachActive
WellfleetIndian NeckActive
WellfleetMaguires LandingActive
WellfleetNewcomb Hollow Active
WellfleetOmaha Beach Active
WellfleetRyder BeachActive