West Meadow Beach Reopens for Swimmers

After closing West Meadow Beach to swimming on Friday afternoon – just before beautiful weekend weather in Three Village – the Suffolk County Department of Health Services has announced the beach has been reopened for bathing.

"West Meadow Beach ... has reopened to bathing as recent samples collected show the water quality to be within acceptable levels," according to a county statement released Monday morning.

A Town of Brookhaven official, however, said last week that lifeguards would no longer be on duty at West Meadow Beach past Sept. 8 this year.

According to the department's online beach monitoring database, a bacteria called enterococci, which is an indicator of fecal bacteria, was found in higher-than-acceptable levels on Sept. 5 and Sept. 3 than on previous days at West Meadow Beach.