Coveleigh Club's beach at 459 Stuyvesant Ave. remained closed as of Aug. 23, with no reopening date set by the Westchester County Department of Health. It is the fifth time this summer that heavy rain has shut swimmers out of the water in Rye.
The health department closed the beach Aug. 21, after 3.28 inches of rain fell in 24 hours, sending road runoff laced with bacteria into Long Island Sound through nearby drainage outfalls.
The department's closure notice, posted on its verified X account, listed Coveleigh Club among nine beaches shuttered "through the weekend and until further notice."
Under county health protocols, more than two inches of rain triggers a closure whose length is "to be determined," meaning officials must test water quality before granting clearance, according to Rye Record reporting. No spokesperson has provided a target date.
The storm also prompted the Mamaroneck Wastewater Treatment Plant to release roughly 5 million gallons of partially treated sewage into the Sound on the night of Aug. 20, as we reported Friday. No source has explicitly linked that discharge to the Coveleigh closure decision, which the county attributed to stormwater runoff.
Eight other beaches remain closed alongside Coveleigh: Harbor Island Park, Beach Point Club, Orienta Beach Club and Mamaroneck Beach & Yacht Club in Mamaroneck, plus Hudson Park Beach, Davenport Beach Club, Greentree Country Club and Surf Club on the Sound in New Rochelle.
A pattern this summer
This is the fifth rain-related closure at Coveleigh Club since late June. Previous shutdowns hit June 23–24 (after 1.08 inches), July 7–8 (1.96 inches), July 19–20 (1.8 inches) and July 22 (0.73 inches). Each lasted one or two days. The current closure, triggered by more than three inches, has no automatic endpoint.
The county's tiered protocol sets clear rules for lighter storms: half an inch means a one-day closure, one inch means two days. But anything above two inches leaves the timeline in the hands of health officials.
What residents should know
The beach cannot reopen without DOH clearance. Residents planning a visit should call Coveleigh Club directly to confirm status before heading out. The county health department has not announced its next water-quality sampling date.
