Venetian Shores Re-opened to Bathing; Tanner Beach Stays Closed

County health officials have lifted the for in Lindenhurst, as well as for 66 other beaches on the North and South Shores of Long Island.

Other local beaches on the bathing advisory list that are now open include Copiague HOA, Amityville Village, Benjamin, West Islip, Islip and East Islip. However, in Copiague remains closed.

The Suffolk County Department of Health Services issued the wide-spread advisory earlier this week as a result the heavy rains on Sunday.

“A bathing advisory is issued when there might be higher levels of nitrogen and bacteria in the water due to storm run-off. That’s usually the case,” explained Grace Kelly-McGovern, SCDHS spokesperson. “They usually last for 24 to 48 hours after a heavy rainfall like the one on Sunday.”

While the advisory has been rescinded, Tanner Park has remained closed to bathing since July 28. It’s one of two beaches that are currently closed (the other is Scotts Beach in Brookhaven Town).

According to the SCDHS website, beaches are usually closed to bathing because of “water quality criteria ‘exceedances’ or the existence of conditions that pose a risk to public health.”

There’s no word yet from Suffolk health officials as to when Tanner might be re-opened to bathing.

For the latest information about affected beaches, residents could call the Bathing Beach Hotline at 631-852-5822, contact the SCDHS Office of Ecology 631-852-5760 during normal business hours or visit the SCDHS website and click on Beach Advisories and Closures.

In the meantime the spray parks at both Venetian Shores and Tanner Park have not been affected by the closures and advisories, and both spray parks have remained open, according to officials.

They explained that the water source for both spray parks comes from a different source than the Great South Bay. The water goes through a filtration system, much a like a pool would have, officials noted.