King's Beach, a historic beach, located on the Atlantic Ocean between the City of Lynn and the Town of Swampscott, was once one of the most active beaches in the Commonwealth. Unfortunately, this resource consistently receives discharge of groundwater mixed with sewage and polluted surface runoff containing bacteria, often in concentrations 800 times greater than safe swimming levels. As a result, King’s Beach has been ranked as one of the worst two beaches for water quality in the Greater Boston area as reported by Save the Harbor/Save the Bay in their annual Metropolitan Beaches Water Quality Report Card. In 2021, King’s Beach received a 68% rating meaning it was unsafe for swimming more than one out of every five days.
Most recently, King’s Beach received a 55% rating, meaning it failed nearly half of the daily water quality tests conducted in 2023. For comparison, the next cleanest beach received a 73% grade, while 9 of the region’s 13 beaches were graded between 90-100%. The Department of Conservation and Recreation conducts daily water quality tests at three locations on King’s Beach. If one site exceeds the safe limit for swimming (104 colony forming units (cfus)) as dictated by the Department of Public Health, the entire beach must be closed for safety of human health. As a result, King’s Beach was closed nearly 90% of the summer in 2023. Cleaning up this beach is essential for advancing justice and equity in Lynn.
King’s Beach has been closed to swimming most days due to elevated bacteria levels. These elevated bacteria levels are the result of drainage flowing onto the beach from the two outfalls located at the City of Lynn /Town of Swampscott line near Eastern Avenue, Lynn Shore Drive and Humphrey Street. The red flags frequently flying at the beach indicate the water is unsafe for swimming due to bacteria levels.
Together, the City of Lynn and the Town of Swampscott are taking the necessary actions to make the beach safer for recreation and are committed to finding innovative ways to tackle this challenge now. To this end, our communities will conduct a pilot program this summer to test the effectiveness of ultraviolet disinfection to treat the stormwater drainage and make the beach safer for recreation this beach season.