High bacteria levels close Bennett Beach

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News and analysis by Dan Telvock, Investigative Post's environmental reporter

The start of the swimming season at Bennett Beach is getting off with a bang—a bacterial bang, that is.

The beach, which is 22 miles southwest of downtown Buffalo, opened for swimming Saturday. But health department officials closed it Monday for high levels of E. coli bacteria.

The announcement of the closing didn’t reach all levels of county government fast enough, however.

Erie County Executive Mark Poloncarz sent this Twitter post at 10:58 a.m.:

Two minutes later, the Twitter feed for Erie County Parks made the following announcement:

Bennett Beach closed 15 times last season, according to data from the Environmental Protection Agency. Unsafe levels of E. coli was the confirmed reason for 11 of those closings.

Bennett Beach isn’t the worst beach in Erie County when it comes to advisories and closings. That honor goes to Woodlawn Beach in Blasdell, which was under advisory or closed 37 percent of the swimming season in 2013.

Here’s the EPA chart for closings and advisories for all 10 Erie County beaches last season:

Dan Telvock