Report finds 51 Maine beaches tested positive for potentially unsafe contamination in 2024
July 9, 2025
OFFICIALS SAY THIS WILL HELP TRACK THE SHARKS…SO THEY CAN KEEP THE PUBLIC SAFE. TAKING A LIVE LOOK AT OGUNQUIT BEHIND US… A NEW STUDY IS RAISING CONCERNS SURROUNDING WATER SAFETY AT BEACHES ALONG MAINE’S COAST. CAMERON LOBLEY SPOKE WITH EXPERTS TO LEARN HOW THE REPORT STACKS UP TO PREVIOUS FINDINGS, AND WHAT THE PEOPLE BEHIND STUDY ARE HOPING COMES NEXT. WITH SUMMER HERE, FOR MANY THAT MEANS IT’S ALSO BEACH SEASON. AND A NEW REPORT IS SHEDDING SOME LIGHT ON HOW CLEAN MAINE SHORES WERE HEADED INTO 2025. “THE SHORT PICTURE IS THAT ALL TOO OFTEN THERE’S NASTY BACTERIA AT TOO MANY OF OUR BEACHES. ” THIS WEEK, RESEARCH GROUP ENVIRONMENT AMERICA RELEASED THEIR 2024 ANNUAL REPORT LOOKING INTO THE SAFETY OF COASTAL WATERS AROUND THE NATION. THEIR FINDINGS SHOWING OVER 50 MAINE BEACHES TESTED POSITIVE FOR POTENTIALLY UNSAFE LEVELS OF BACTERIA. 15 OF WHICH HAVING UNSAFE LEVELS DETECTED FOR AT LEAST A QUARTER OF THEIR TESTING DAYS. THE YEARLY REPORT COMES A FEW MONTHS AFTER THE MAINE HEALTHY BEACHES PROGRAM RELEASED THEIR REPORT FOR 2024. THAT, NOTING THE DEPARTMENT OF ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION PUT OUT ELEVATED BACTERIA ADVISORIES TO 29 BEACHES LAST YEAR. OFFICIALS WITH MAINE D-E-P AND HEALTHY BEACHES SAY THAT WHILE THE BACTERIA DETECTED CAN POINT TO HARMFUL PATHOGENS, IT’S NOT ALWAYS NECESSARILY CAUSE FOR CONCERN. “WE ARE TESTING FOR A TYPE OF BACTERIA CALLED ENTEROCOCCUS, AND THAT IS A FECAL INDICATOR BACTERIA.” “IT DOES NOT INDICATE THAT THERE ARE MASSIVE LEVELS OF PATHOGENS AND SICKNESS CAUSING, PATHOGENS IN THE WATER. IT’S JUST A METRIC THAT WE USE TO GIVE INFORMATION.” BUT ENVIRONMENT AMERICA SAYS THE FINDINGS ARE STILL CAUSE FOR GREATER ACTION IN PREVENTING WATER POLLUTION FOR U-S BEACHES. “PORTLAND AND OTHER COMMUNITIES HAVE DONE A GREAT JOB REDUCING THEIR COMBINED SEWER OVERFLOWS, INTO THE BAY OVER THE LAST TWO DECADES. THAT’S A FANTASTIC MARKER OF SUCCESS.” MAINE D-E-P KEEPS BEACHGOERS REGULARLY UPDATED ON THE STATUS OF BEACHES, YOU CAN FIND LIVE WARNINGS MAPPED OUT ON THE HEALTHY BEACHES WEBSITE. ACCORDING TO THE STUDY, THE GULF COAST SAW THE HIGHEST PERCENTAGE OF POTENTIALLY UNSAFE BEACHES AT 84%. THE EAST COAST, ON THE OTHER HAND, ONLY SAW AROUND 54
Recent study finds 51 Maine beaches tested positive for potentially unsafe contamination in 2024
The nationwide report comes four months after the Maine Department of Environmental Protection’s 2024 report.
Updated: 7:26 PM EDT Jul 9, 2025
More than 50 beaches along Maine’s coastline tested positive for potentially unsafe levels of fecal indicator bacteria in 2024, according to a recently released report.Environment America Research and Policy Center, who published the study, says that of the 51 beaches where unsafe levels were detected for at least one day, 15 had unsafe levels for at least 25% of the testing timeframe.Those that met or exceeded 25% were tested as many as 26 times throughout 2024.”The short picture is that all too often there’s nasty bacteria at too many of our beaches,” said John Rumpler, Clean Water Director for the Environment Maine branch of Environment America.Environment America’s report comes 4 months after the release of the Maine Department of Environmental Protection’s yearly Healthy Beaches report.According to the report, the DEP facilitated elevated bacteria advisories at 29 Maine beaches in 2024. Alex Dyer, Coordinator for the Maine Healthy Beaches program, says that while the presence of fecal indicators can subsequently detect the presence of harmful pathogens, detection doesn’t necessarily mean the contamination is significant enough to affect beachgoers.”We are testing for a type of bacteria called enterococcus, and that is a fecal indicator bacteria,” said Dyer. “It does not indicate that there are massive levels of pathogens and sickness-causing pathogens in the water. It’s just a metric that we use to give information. To the people that are swimming, to the people that recreating, so that they can make good choices when they go to our beaches” But Environment America says the findings are still worth putting a greater effort toward preventing contamination, such as managing overflow from deteriorating sewage systems. You can find a map of live beach safety updates on the Maine Healthy Beaches webpage.
More than 50 beaches along Maine’s coastline tested positive for potentially unsafe levels of fecal indicator bacteria in 2024, according to a recently released report.
Environment America Research and Policy Center, who published the study, says that of the 51 beaches where unsafe levels were detected for at least one day, 15 had unsafe levels for at least 25% of the testing timeframe.
Those that met or exceeded 25% were tested as many as 26 times throughout 2024.
“The short picture is that all too often there’s nasty bacteria at too many of our beaches,” said John Rumpler, Clean Water Director for the Environment Maine branch of Environment America.
Environment America’s report comes 4 months after the release of the Maine Department of Environmental Protection’s yearly Healthy Beaches report.
According to the report, the DEP facilitated elevated bacteria advisories at 29 Maine beaches in 2024.
Alex Dyer, Coordinator for the Maine Healthy Beaches program, says that while the presence of fecal indicators can subsequently detect the presence of harmful pathogens, detection doesn’t necessarily mean the contamination is significant enough to affect beachgoers.
“We are testing for a type of bacteria called enterococcus, and that is a fecal indicator bacteria,” said Dyer. “It does not indicate that there are massive levels of pathogens and sickness-causing pathogens in the water. It’s just a metric that we use to give information. To the people that are swimming, to the people that recreating, so that they can make good choices when they go to our beaches”
But Environment America says the findings are still worth putting a greater effort toward preventing contamination, such as managing overflow from deteriorating sewage systems.
You can find a map of live beach safety updates on the Maine Healthy Beaches webpage.
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