Water Quality Archives

Water Quality Archives

Summer 2021 closures

2021 SUMMER SUMMARY: There were only 13 total days of closures at swimming areas, out of the 89 days between Memorial Day and Labor Day. 11 were due to cyanobacteria and 2 because of high e-coli levels. There were 2 additional days we posted caution signs due to cyanobacteria at non-swimming areas.

 

9/1: All beaches are OPEN for swimming.

8/31: Leddy Beach is closed to swimming due to high e-coli counts. All other beaches are open.

8/21: Oakledge beaches tested fine and reopened.

8/20: Blanchard Beach and the Cove at Oakledge are closed to swimming due to cyanobacteria.

8/14-19: all beaches are OPEN

8/13: Leddy Beach is closed due to unusually high levels of e-coli. We will retest with result in tomorrow.

8/6-8/12: ALL BEACHES ARE OPEN

8/5: “Texaco” Beach is CLOSED due to cyanobacteria. All other swimming areas are OPEN.

7/25-8/4: All beaches are OPEN

7/24: Leddy, Blanchard Beach & Oakledge Cove tested clear and are open. North Beach & “Texaco” are Closed.

7/23: Leddy, “Texaco” & North Beaches tested clear and are open. The beaches at Oakledge remain closed today.

7/22: By 4pm all swimming areas have been closed due to cyanobacteria blooms.

7/21: Blanchard Beach (Oakledge), North Beach and “Texaco” Beach are clear and OPEN today. Oakledge Cove & Leddy Beach remains CLOSED.

7/20: All beaches are CLOSED to swimming due to cyanobacteria. Perkins pier has a large bloom as well.

7/18-19: ALL beaches were clear and OPEN

7/17: Leddy Beach was still closed. The beaches at North Beach, “Texaco” and Oakledge Park are OPEN.

7/16: Leddy and North Beaches remain CLOSED due to cyanobacteria blooms.

7/15: Leddy, North Beach and “Texaco” Beaches closed because of cyanobacteria. Oakledge remained open.

7/13-14: ALL swimming areas were clear and OPEN

7/12: All swimming areas closed due to cyanobacteria. Blooms were also present at the Coastguard boat launch and Perkins Pier.

Beach Closure History for Summer 2020

9/6: North Beach, Blanchard & Oakledge Cove and Texaco beaches are closed due to cyanobacteria.

9/4: ALL BEACHES ARE OPEN

9/3: Leddy, Oakledge Cove, Blanchard, Texaco beaches and the steps to the water near the Waterfront Dog Park are CLOSED due to cyanobacteria bloom. North Beach is OPEN.

9/1: All beaches are reopened

8/31: Oakledge Cove, Blanchard Beach and Texaco Beach closed today due to cyanobacteria.

8/21: All beach are open

8/20: Oakledge Cove is closed. All other beaches are open.

8/19: There is a small cyanobacteria bloom at the Oakledge Cove and we are closing it.

8/14-18: All Beaches are OPEN

8/13: all beaches are closed today

8/12 Water Quality Notice:

  • Leddy Beach is closed due to cyanobacteria too. That makes all swimming areas closed.
  • Oakledge Cove and Blanchard Beach, as well as North Beach and Texaco are closed to swimming due to cyanobacteria.
  • North Beach access was restricted this morning for crews to clear storm debris. It should be cleared this afternoon to allow park access.
  • DPW has posted 48 hour advisory notices at Oakledge Cove, Blanchard Beach, Blodgett Access and Perkins Pier.
More details from DPW: Last night, Burlington’s Main Wastewater Treatment Plant switched over to backup generation during a widespread power outage in Burlington during the massive thunderstorm. While backup generation did turn on, disinfection pumps did not immediately start. Operators were on-site to diagnose and fix this issue. This did lead to a treated but not fully disinfected discharge from the Plant. This may lead to higher bacteria levels in nearby water. Due to proximity and in accordance with state law, we advise against contact recreation (e.g., swimming) at Oakledge Cove, Blanchard Beach, Blodgett Access and Perkins Pier for 48 hours. Visit burlingtonvt.gov/dpw for more information on Water Resources.
8/11: Oakledge Beaches, Leddy and North Beach are open. Texaco remains closed. E-coli test look good at all beaches.

8/10: all beaches Closed – Leddy, North Beach, Oakledge Cove, Blanchard, Texaco Beach and the steps by the Waterfront Dog Park have a Cyanobacteria blooms. We have posted and closed all.

8/9: all beaches are open

8/8: Only Blanchard Beach (Oakledge) is open today. The Cove at Oakledge, North Beach, Texaco Beach & Leddy Beach are closed due to cyanobacteria blooms.

8/7: Water Quality Update: Beaches are now OPEN, with the exception of Blanchard/Oakledge beach which remains closed due to cyanobacteria.

8/6: Several Beaches Now closed. By end of day today we have spotted cyanobacteria blooms at North Beach, Texaco, Leddy and Oakledge Cove.
Blanchard Beach at Oakledge is the only one open at this time.

8/2: all beaches are open

8/1: Beach closures: North Beach, Texaco, and Oakledge Cove are closed due to Cyanobacteria. Blanchard Beach in Oakledge Park and Leddy Beach are open.

7/31: Oakledge Cove remains closed, and now Blanchard Beach shows signs of cyanobacteria and will be closed. We’ve spotted a bloom between North Beach and Texaco as well. We’ll watch it to see if it get near the swimming areas.

7/30: Cyanobacteria spotted at the Cove at Oakledge

7/28: All beaches are open again, and the bi-weekly e-coli testing is good.

7/27: Cyanobacteria Closing Blanchard Beach. Blanchard Beach in Oakledge park is closed to swimming. We have a Cyanobacteria bloom forming in several locations along the beach. All the other beaches are okay and open.

7/22: Beaches are open

7/15: Cyanobacteria closures. There are cyanobacteria blooms in the stagnant pools at Blanchard beach. We’re posting around the pools but the beach will remain open.

7/13: Small cyanobacteria blooms spotted, but swimming remains open

the stagnant pools at Leddy Beach show signs of cyanobacteria. Signs have been posted at that area. All swimming areas are OPEN.

7/11: Beaches are open again!

7/10: Cyanobacteria Closing Beaches- We have blooms at North Beach & Texaco Beach this morning, and we spotted cyanobacteria in a stagnant pool at Leddy. Signs have been posted closing these swimming areas. Oakledge and its beaches are clear and open.

7/9: Cyanobacteria spotted – We’ve spotted some small cyanobacteria blooms popping up today. The larger one is near the Fishing Pier. The smaller second bloom is at the Boardwalk scenic viewing section. We will continue to monitor these locations and the beaches.

6/26: Cyanobacteria sighting – At roughly 5pm, we spotted our first bloom of the year. The bloom started around the Sailing Center area and went down to the new marina & Coast Guard ramp then along the boardwalk. The Community Boathouse marina seems to be unaffected. Blooms were also spotted at Perkins Pier around the ramp and in the dock area.  Health dept signs were posted at the Coast Guard ramp and Perkins Pier. This bloom was gone the following day

 

Water Quality Notice for 5.29.2020

Last night, there was a treated, but not fully disinfected discharge from Burlington’s Main Wastewater Treatment Facility. This may lead to higher bacteria levels in nearby water. Due to proximity, we advise against swimming at Oakledge Cove, Blanchard Beach, Blodgett Access (closed for Path construction) and Perkins Pier for 48 hours. Signs will be posted at those locations. A longer update will be posted to burlingtonvt.gov/dpw/press-releases. This will include further details on the major storm event and information on the upgrade work planned at our treatment facilities.

 

Below are the previous years’ test results for our bi-weekly e-coli tests.

Click each to enlarge.

2020 Season

Summer 2019 Water Quality Summary

 

2018 water quality. Click to enlarge.