7/8/14: During day two of our July water sampling patrol Carol Knudson (colleague from Lamont Doherty/Columbia U) took a swim break after we sampled off Croton Point Beach. We use our sampling data to guide us as to where and when we swim. Check our test results for this location over time – only two of our samples have failed since 2006 (and only on days when we sampled right after a heavy rain – 1” plus)
https://www.riverkeeper.org/water-quality/hudson-river/rockland-westchester/croton-point-beach/
Clearly this is a pretty good place for a public beach. And clearly it’s safe to say that it should be closed after a heavy rain until it recovers. Sampling every 12 or 24 hours through a few rain events might yield a simple but relatively accurate model.
The bottom here in six feet of water is mud, with many Rangia clams, which like brackish water.