North Shore beaches graded A- to C in water quality report

BY BRANDON DUFFY

North Hempstead Beach Park in Port Washington received an A- in the nonprofit Save the Sound’s water quality rankings.

The town-owned beach was the highest of four in the North Shore graded in the biennial report, receiving its highest grade in five years.

North Hempstead Bar Beach in Port Washington received a B grade for the fourth consecutive year while Manorhaven Beach and Village Club at Sands Point, which is privately owned, earned C+ and C grades, respectively.

Manorhaven Beach was also included in the 10 lowest-scoring beaches in the region from 2020 to 2022.

Of the over 200 beaches included in the report, 78% of Long Island Sound beaches earned A or B grades, according to a release.

“Water quality at beaches across Long Island Sound has come so far – but we may be at a tipping point. Increasing rainfall brought on by climate change threatens to undo decades of progress unless we act now,” Vice President of Water Protection David Ansel said. “We’re calling on elected officials to prioritize investment in repairs and improvements to sewer lines and stormwater systems. Steps we take in the next five years may well set the course for the health of Long Island Sound over the next 50.”

Poor water quality can be attributed to, among other things, pollutants in stormwater runoff that reach the beaches, the nonprofit said.

“There’s abundant impervious surface covering extensive areas in our region that precipi- tation cannot penetrate. Instead, it runs off our roofs and driveways, the streets, parking lots, and sidewalks of our neighborhoods,” the non-

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