More North Shore Beaches Close Amid Scorching Heat Wave

SWAMPSCOTT, MA — As some North Shore beaches downstream from the Merrimack River reopened to swimming on Wednesday after closing because of the sewer rupture discharging 8 million gallons of untreated wastewater per day into the river, new beaches along the coast were closed on Thursday ahead of the long holiday weekend.

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Swampscott's King's Beach, as well as King's Beach locations in Lynn, were added to the state notification page for closures on Friday.

The Marblehead Board of Health also said that Grace Oliver Beach was closed as of Friday.

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Marblehead Health Director Andrew Petty said Devereux Beach, Crocker Park, Gas House and Stramski Beach were tested and remained open as of Thursday.

Petty said Grace Oliver was tested again on Thursday with results expected on Friday.

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Other North Shore beaches closed because of bacterial exceedance — considered an indictor of fecal matter in the water — included Children's Island in Salem, Magnolia East Beach in Manchester, and Donovans and Grandview in Wintrop.

A day after proclaiming that Plum Island beaches were set to open in Newburyport, the state interactive website had four Plum Island beaches closed to swimming as of Thursday afternoon.