This summer, we are bringing back our Sound Swim Alerts for Westchester, a regular notice of which beaches are closed because of pollution and which open, and where you can go on a hot day to safely cool off in the waters of Long Island Sound.

Here's how it works. Each weekend morning and on holidays we will post a notice on our blog, Green Cities Blue Waters, telling you if beaches in Westchester County are open.

We'll also post it on our Facebook page and on Twitter (@savethesound).   

If the beaches are closed, we'll take the additional step of alerting you via email (if you've received this, you're on the list). We'll also send an email if the beaches are shut down on a weekday. Please feel free to forward this to anyone who you think might like to receive the Sound Swim Alerts; the signup link is here.

Our purpose is to help you plan your outings. But we also intend to help solve the decades-old problem of bacterial pollution at local beaches by calling attention to it and highlighting what needs to be done. We'll hold local governments accountable for not fixing their sewers and celebrate the occasions when residents and government agencies take positive steps to make Long Island Sound safer and cleaner.

For now, the forecast for the weekend looks good, so enjoy the beach!

Tom Andersen

New York Program and Communications Coordinator