Fecal Fiasco: Labor Day Letdown As East Coast Beaches Close Due To Contamination

Some of the East Coast’s most popular beaches, stretching from Long Island all the way down to Florida, will be off-limits to swimmers this Labor Day weekend thanks to sky-high levels of fecal contamination, officials warned.

On Long Island, Benjamin’s Beach in Bay Shore, a favorite summer spot along the Great South Bay, was slapped with a swimming ban earlier this week after Suffolk County officials found bacteria levels above acceptable safety limits.

Health officials warned that swimming in poo water can result in gastrointestinal illness, rashes and infections of the eyes, ears, nose and throat, and urged residents to stay out of the water until testing shows it’s safe.

Meanwhile, beaches from Crystal River, Fla., to Cape Cod, Mass., and Ogunquit, Maine, have also been slapped with advisories tied to bacteria linked to fecal matter, threatening to spoil swimmers’ holiday fun.

The culprit? A nasty mix of urban runoff, sewage overflows and factory farm waste that’s been pushing dangerous pathogens straight into America’s waters, according to the nonprofit Environment America, the Daily News reports.

The group’s latest report paints a disturbing picture: more than 60% of all U.S. beaches, and 54% along the East Coast, had potentially unsafe contamination levels last year.

“In 2024, 1,930 of 3,187 beaches tested nationwide (61%) experienced at least one day when indicators of fecal contamination hit potentially unsafe levels — exceeding the EPA’s most protective standards,” the report warned.

And if that wasn’t gross enough, Suffolk County officials are also telling locals to stay far away from Prestons Pond near Manorville, where a fresh bloom of toxic blue-green algae has made the water hazardous.

Contact with the slime can cause rashes, nausea, vomiting, diarrhea and even trouble breathing, according to the New York State Department of Health.