The health department has a handy tool you can check to see how contaminated by sewage and storm runoff the beaches around our city are… it’s shocking but helpful.
Being from NYC, you’re probably already aware that our beaches are often prone to sewage and storm runoff… as if the sharks around out waters weren’t enough to worry about. The New York City health department has warned the public that swimming in contaminated water can cause vomiting, diarrhea and respiratory illnesses. Thankfully they have released a handy map that can show you exactly where to avoid when you want to take a dip in the ocean.
The map tracks the quality of the sea water in and around our city’s beaches. The color-coded map shows the level of danger and pollution and whether it is safe enough to swim: Green is good (as you can probably guess) yellow signifies that you probably shouldn’t get into the water but you can at your own risk, and red (can’t help but think they missed an opportunity not making it brown) is a serious and enforced restriction of access to the water because of pollution.
Clearly, if you’re sticking around for the summer and plan to visit our many beaches, you should be bookmarking THIS map right now. Click the map below to visit the interactive map for yourself.
