Health Dept. Again Recommends NK Town Beach Closure

The Rhode Island Department of Health has recommended closure of North Kingstown Town Beach to swimming for the second time in four days due to high bacteria counts.

A story Friday on the RI Future website said the issue was all the rain we've had this past week.

“It’s not unusual to see elevated bacteria counts after heavy rain, which explains this week’s closures to swimming,” Dara Chadwick, the spokeswoman for the state Health Department, told RI Future.

The story continued:

"Rhode Island doesn’t have to worry about big factories dumping pollutants directly into the Bay anymore, but it does still suffer from what’s called 'nonpoint source pollution.' All sorts of lawn fertilizers, oils and other environmental toxins – even pet poop – gets washed from our roads and lawns into Narragansett Bay. When we get a lot of rain, the Bay becomes too polluted to swim in; all that bacteria can make us pretty sick."

Rep. Teresa Tanzi (D-Narr.) introduced a bill this year to lower nonpoint source pollution by phasing out septic tanks. 

“This is important because cesspools – simple drums in the ground with no treatment of waste – pollute ground and surface water, well and drinking water supplies, and beaches where people swim," Save The Bay spokesman Peter Hanney told RI Future. 

To keep track of what beaches are closed, click here for the state Health Department's interactive map.