As multiple heat waves have swept across our region, you may have noticed that Upper Mystic Lake’s Shannon Beach, the only free public freshwater beach in the Mystic River watershed, has been closed nearly all summer. In fact, it is one among many beaches across the state that have closed due to concerns around the level of harmful bacteria in the water. Ahead of July 4th weekend, over 30 beaches were closed to swimming, including Shannon Beach, which has remained closed since early June.
Frequent and long-term beach closures reveal a hard truth - the way we are managing our public beaches is broken…
