DEP to Beachgoers: Be ‘Shore Ready’ for Season

TRENTON – The Department of Environmental Protection is readying for the upcoming beach season by reminding residents about programs that help maintain New Jersey’s excellent beach water quality and the various online platforms available to help the public be shore ready this summer, Commissioner Catherine R. McCabe announced May 14.
According to a release, New Jersey this year marks the 45th anniversary of the Cooperative Coastal Monitoring Program, which provides water quality data and beach status information to the public for 188 ocean, 22 bay and eight river public recreational beaches that are routinely monitored during the season. Beach season begins May 25.
“New Jersey has a number of tools to provide beachgoers with information updated daily about our outstanding beach water quality,” McCabe stated. “We encourage the public to use these resources, so they will be ready for another great season at the Jersey shore.”
The njbeaches.org website is a one-stop-shop for all things related to beach water quality in New Jersey. Visitors to the site may access maps and other information about which recreational bathing beaches are open, closed, or have swimming advisories; water quality test results; and updates from coastal surveillance flights that look for algae blooms or debris that might impact a visit to the shore.
Daily updates to the website began May 13 and will continue through September.
Visitors to njbeaches.org also may access each beach season’s annual summary report, fact sheets related to various beach and/or ocean-related issues, and photos of animals and items found in the water as well as on the beaches.
Beachgoers may also stay updated on shore-related happenings by following @NJBeachReport on Twitter. From mid-May through September, tweets will feature daily updates for openings, closings, advisories, water quality sampling and coastal surveillance flight results.
In addition to the Cooperative Coastal Monitoring Program anniversary this year, the DEP is celebrating milestones for the Coastal Surveillance Flights and Clean Shores programs, both of which have been providing shore-related cleanups, assistance and information to the public for 30 years.
Coastal surveillance flights will be conducted six days a week, starting May 20 and continuing through September. The Clean Shores program partners with the Department of Corrections to assist municipalities with coastal shorelines by using inmate labor to clear and remove trash and debris year-round.