With an exceptionally rainy summer comes excessive bacteria in some of Dartmouth’s waterfronts, said Board of Health Director Christopher Michaud.

Throughout the beach season, private, semi-public and public beaches have had to close due to high levels of bacteria in the water. At the time of publication, Moses Smith Creek in Dartmouth is marked as closed on state data bases due to high bacteria levels. Previously, Jones Town Beach, Anthony Beach, Hidden Bay and Oak Hill Shores were closed as a precaution. 

Michaud says the heavy rain we’ve had this summer is to blame.

It is like washing one's hands, but rather than sending the dirty water down the drain, the rain washes it into the beaches, he explained.

The bacteria making its way into the water contains human and animal feces and other bacteria typically found in wastewater.

Shallow water is particularly susceptible to bacteria influxes because there is less water to dilute it.

“We’ve seen closures at some of our not-so-typical beaches,” Michaud said. “We have some shallow channels along bathing beaches that people like to frequent … those have seen some failures as well, being that those are very shallow systems.”

The consequences of swimming in waters with excessive bacteria may be different from person to person, but Michaud said results could include gastrointestinal problems or swimmers' ears.

Going in the infected water “significantly increases the risk of being exposed to these waste materials that can have consequences [resulting in] disease,” he said.

The board of health is required to post signs that inform the public of the bacteria related closures, but it is a personal responsibility to abide by the signage.

To see a complete up-to-date list of public beach closures in Massachusetts, visit www.mass.gov/info-details/current-public-beach-postings.