A soggy start to the week has turned into a buzzkill for beachgoers, as Nassau County's Department of Health issued a precautionary advisory against bathing at 20 county beaches effective Tuesday, June 23, 2026. After recent heavy rainfall, officials say stormwater runoff can spike bacteria levels in coastal waters high enough to potentially exceed state bathing standards. The advisory covers multiple North Shore and South Shore spots and is set to be lifted at 8 a.m. Wednesday, unless more rain or water-quality tests say otherwise.
According to LongIsland.com, the county named 16 North Shore sites and four South Shore beaches in the notice. The Department warned that, "Stormwater runoff can impact bathing water quality by elevating bacteria levels, which may cause exceedances of the New York State standard for bathing water quality." The report also lists health department contact numbers for recorded beach status and weekday questions.
Which beaches are affected
The North Shore list includes Centre Island Sound, Creek Club, Crescent Beach, Lattingtown Beach, Laurel Hollow Beach, Morgan Sound, North Hempstead Beach Park, Piping Rock Beach Club, Pryibil Beach, Ransom Beach, Theodore Roosevelt Beach, Sea Cliff Village Beach, Sea Cliff Yacht Club Beach, Soundside Beach, Stehli Beach and Tappen Beach. The South Shore spots named are Biltmore Beach Club, Hewlett Point Beach, Island Park Beach and Philip Healey Beach, and local outlets ran matching lists after the county notice; FOX5 NY summarized the regional advisories.
What to do next
County officials stress this is a precautionary move: the advisory is scheduled to be lifted at 8 a.m. on Wednesday, June 24, unless further rainfall or water-quality samples still show elevated bacterial levels. For recorded updates, call the Nassau Bathing Beach Hotline at (516) 227-9700, and on weekdays you can reach a health department representative at (516) 227-9717, per the county notice. The New York State interactive beach site, run by the New York State Department of Health, posts real-time advisories and sampling results for designated bathing beaches.
Why this happens
Health officials explain that after strong storms, runoff can carry bacteria from streets and creeks into enclosed bays where tidal flushing is limited. That can create short-lived contamination spikes that make swimming risky. The forecast for the region from the National Weather Service showed periods of heavy rain across Long Island on Monday into Tuesday, which likely triggered the precautions. Local and county officials typically lift advisories once sampling falls back within state limits or after waters have been flushed by a couple of tidal cycles.
State and county alerts can flip quickly during unsettled weather, so anyone planning a beach day this week should check the recorded hotline messages or the state map before heading into the water and steer clear if they have open wounds or weakened immune systems. We will update as county sampling or notices change.
