Jersey beaches are among the most beautiful in the country, and apparently they’re also some of the cleanest. A new study by the National Resources Defense Council (NRDC), an organization that tests water quality nationally, ranks NJ beaches as the second-best for water quality in the US. That’s despite the uptick in severe storms over the last few years, which has resulted in increased overall pollution..
Seven NJ beaches received “superstar” status a title given to beaches exceeding national standards. These beaches have been evaluated to be consistently safe since 2009 Moreover in 2013, they did not exceed the EPA's new, more protective water quality threshold, the Beach Action Value (BAV), by more than 2 percent in 2013 (the closer the figure is to 0, the higher the water quality).
The superstars:
- Stone Harbor at 96th Street
- 40th Street beach in Avalon
- Sea Isle City at 40th Street
- Upper Township (Cape May) at Webster Road
- Wildwood Crest at Orchid
- Margate at Washington
- Point Pleasant Beach.
The worst beach in New Jersey according to the study was Beachwood Beach West on the Toms River in Beachwood— which earned the title “repeat offender,” because, for the fifth year in a row, it continues to have “serious water pollution problems.”
