A South Boston Beach Update

and vicinity’s beaches consistently clean and attractive to all residents, and especially to those beach-goers who enjoy salt water swimming. At present, the twelve (12) major beaches Save the Harbor/Save the Bay supports stretch from Nantasket to Nahant; this includes all of South Boston’s beaches – more than three miles of them, from Mothers Rest to the Pleasure Bay lagoon. We’ll refer to Save the Harbor/Save the Bay as “SH/SB” for the rest of this article.

Chris Mancini is currently the Executive Director of SH/ SB. He is competently following in the very devoted footsteps of Patty Foley and Bruce Berman, along with many others over the years. SH/SB’s head office is located here at 212 Northern Avenue, otherwise known as South Boston’s Fish Pier. And SH/SB’s location in the “ol’ hometown” is truly fitting!

Recently, Chris notified us that for the last few years, South Boston’s beaches have been the best and cleanest urban beaches in the U.S. In 2022, Pleasure Bay, City Point, K Street, and Carson Beach tested out at a 100% squeaky clean level. Over the last six years, South Boston’s famous (infamous?) M Street Beach has averaged 97% cleanliness. You can’t do much better than that; our beaches attract swimmers and sunbathers from all over.

Something as common as a sudden rainstorm can affect bacteria levels in local waters and around beaches. This is because the rain, and to an extent the winds that go with them, literally deposit bacteria from the land into waterways and swimming areas. It’s best that you don’t go swimming for a day after a storm hits, but you should recognize major sources of contaminants are unexpected spills and discharges of pollutants and waste from onshore. Fortunately, these happenings are rare. Boston Harbor and its nearby beaches have really benefited from the decades of cleaning up that has been accomplished. Thanks are due to the Commonwealth’s elected officials, to technologists, to SH/SB, and to the public. And ongoing testing programs along with better beach protections are being improved upon continually. It’s July. Time to hit our South Boston beaches.

Some years ago, South Boston’s then State Senator Jack Hart had a favorite saying that went, “Why spend a week in Martinique, when you can spend every day on Pleasure Bay?” Wellspoken, Jack! In the summer of 2023, your words really apply.