Coveleigh Club's beach in Rye closed again Wednesday, Sept. 2, after 0.89 inches of rain triggered another Westchester County Health Department shutdown.
It was at least the sixth time this summer that rainfall closed the private club's Long Island Sound beach, according to MyRye.com. The closure also affected beaches in Mamaroneck and New Rochelle. The beach, at 459 Stuyvesant Ave., can reopen Thursday, Sept. 3, unless significant additional rainfall occurs.
A summer of shutdowns
The Health Department uses a rainfall threshold system for beaches along the Sound Shore, including Coveleigh and clubs in Mamaroneck Harbor and near Davenport Neck in New Rochelle. More than half an inch of rain triggers a one-day closure. More than an inch means two days. Anything above two inches keeps beaches shut until the department clears them based on water-quality testing.
The pattern started June 24, when more than an inch of rain closed Coveleigh for a day, according to lohud.com. Two weeks later, 1.96 inches on July 7 shut the beach for two days. The department closed it again July 19 and July 20 after 1.8 inches fell, and then again July 22 after 0.73 inches.
The worst episode came in August. On Aug. 21, 3.28 inches of rain triggered a five-day closure that lasted through Aug. 25. During that same storm, the Mamaroneck wastewater treatment plant released 5 million gallons of partially treated sewage into the Sound, according to MyRye.com. The Health Department did not clear Coveleigh and other Sound Shore beaches to reopen until Aug. 26, after water samples met quality standards, MyRye.com reported.
Why beaches close after rain
Each closure follows the same mechanism. Stormwater drains carry road runoff into drainage outfalls near the beaches, pushing potentially harmful bacteria into the Sound. In July, Westchester County warned beach patrons to stay out of the water because of bacterial contamination risk from road runoff into nearby outfalls, according to the Rye Record.
The documented closures add up to at least 12 lost beach days at Coveleigh this summer: one day each on June 24, July 22 and Sept. 2; two days each on July 7–8 and July 19–20; and five days from Aug. 21 through Aug. 25. The beach can reopen Thursday, Sept. 3, unless more rain falls.
