Local Beaches Close Following Storm:
Reopen Two Days Later

The Westchester County Department of Health closed all seven beaches in Mamaroneck and Larchmont on June 27 due to effects of the previous day's heavy rainfall.

The Larchmont Shore Club and Manor beach closed due to storm-related discharges into the Long Island Sound from four Westchester County pump stations. The beaches at Orienta, Beach Point and Mamaroneck Beach and Cabana clubs closed due to pollution from streets and storm drains washed into the Sound along with the rainwater.

The beaches reopened on Saturday.

Manor Beach Saturday, June 28 at 8:30am: Open for the birds

In 1998, Town Councilwoman Phyllis Wittner obtained a $224,000 federal grant for storm water improvements on behalf of Larchmont Village and the Town of Mamaroneck. The funds have not yet been expended, however, because of a dispute with the State over responsibility to maintain the improvements.

U.S. Representative Nita Lowey secured $300,000 in additional funds for Larchmont to address the storm water problem, so there is now a total of $524,000 in federal funds available for addressing the problems leading to beach closings.

The beach closings stem from two related problems: sewage discharges and storm water runoff.

Storm-related sewage discharges: Based on a legal settlement between the Federal, State, County and municipal governments, many Village and Town sewer lines are being relined so that rain water does not enter the sanitary sewer system. During heavy rainfalls, the extra rainwater in the sewer lines exceeds the capacity of the system, and sewer water is discharged into the Sound without being treated at the New Rochelle plant. In addition to the pipe renovations, an "overflow retention tank" is to be constructed behind Flint Park. The tank will hold excess sewage flows during storms, to greatly reduce the frequency of discharges into the Sound.

Storm-water runoff: The Mamaroneck beaches were closed because rainwater, polluted from streets and other sources, flowed through the storm sewers into the Sound. Another environmental program, the "National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System" is designed to control this source of pollution.

It will take some time to implement the various projects proposed to handle storm-water related problems. Until then, Larchmont can expect to see beach closings after heavy rains.

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