Report: New Jersey Beaches are the Third Cleanest in the Country

Only one beach in the State of New Jersey had more than 20 percent of its sample taken exceed the safety threshold for the strictest standards for water quality set by the EPA, according to the National Resources Defense Council.

That beach was in Berkeley Township at Beachwood Beach West in Ocean County at 52 percent.

The council recently conducted a study of water quality nationwide. It collected beach water samples from 288 beaches in New Jersey and tested them under the EPA’s Beach Action Value (BAV), which has stricter safety regulations than the national standard.

New Jersey beaches ranked third in beach cleanliness out of 30 beaches surveyed in 2013.

While 276 of New Jersey’s 492 beaches were not monitored or had too few samples for a full analysis, a majority of those that were analyzed didn’t have any samples exceed the safety threshold. That means 153 (35 percent) of the beaches surveyed were clear.

Another 53 beaches (11 percent) had between zero and 10 percent of its samples exceed safety standards, and another nine (2 percent) were between 10 and 20 percent.

Among those between 10 and 20 percent, Neptune Township at Shark River Beach and Yacht in Monmouth County each had 20 percent, Berkeley Township at West Beach Avon Road in Ocean County checked in at 18 percent, and Brick Township at Windward Beach in Ocean County registered 17 percent.

While the use of BAV standards is currently optional, the EPA requires states that are receiving help under the Beaches Environmental Assessment and Coastal Health (BEACH) Act. The Act helps states develop monitoring programs to protect public health. The programs are used to help states monitor beaches for water bacteria and issue closing notices or advisories when beaches surpass a certain threshold.