NJ Beaches Open for Bathing

In 2010, NJ ocean and bay beaches were open for bathing over 99.8% of the time.

East Coast States: Beaches Open for Bathing

When the public in NJ went to the beach in 2009, they found the beach was open for bathing 99.7 percent of the time. As the figure shows, NJ has among the highest percentage of beaches open on the East Coast.

Data Source: USEPA data.  Beach days are defined as the # of beaches open multiplied by the # of days in a season.

2010 NJ Beach Closings Data

In 2010, New Jersey ocean beaches were open to bathing over 99.8% of the time and there were no closures due to floatables.

Closures at New Jersey's ocean beaches due to exceedances of the water quality standard have been down since the early 1990's. In 2010, all ocean beach closings were precautionary closures. These precautionary closures, which occur after rainfall, provide an enhanced level of public health protection that has been implemented by county and local health officials with the support of DEP. Even with the precautionary closures, New Jersey ocean beaches are open to bathing over 99.8% of the time.

In 2010, there were 7 bay beach closings for bacteria in excess of the standards and 20 precautionary closures (which are designed to be more protective of public health).

View the Program Summary Report for 2010(PDF)

• Appendix 1 (PDF)
• Appendix 2 (PDF)

For reports prior to 2010, click here.

View the 2011 Quality Assurance Project Plan (PDF)