Barrington Town Beach Reopened

Barrington Town Beach has been reopened with a bacterial level that is dramatically lower than 24 hours earlier.

“I told them to reopen the beach right away,” said John Taylor, Barrington recreation director, at about 1 pm Friday.

The Rhode Island health department recommended closing the beach on Thursday afternoon after bacterial levels that were deemed extremely elevated, Taylor said.

“Now they are below 10, which is very low,” he said. “I don’t know why they were so high (more than 1,000) a day earlier.”

Taylor said he was surprised on Thursday afternoon by the Thursday results.

"I asked them (health department) if the test results were correct," he said. "It's the best water we've seen in years. You can see the bottom. It used to be cloudy and now it’s greenish-blue."

The status of a beach may change on a daily basis, however, according to the health department. That’s why the water is monitored and tested daily.