All New Bedford beaches closed after flooding Tuesday

NEW BEDFORD, Mass. (WLNE) — After severe storms dumped heavy rainfall on Tuesday, the city of New Bedford closed all swimming areas at beaches due to the potential of sewer overflows that could impact swimmers.

City officials tested the water Wednesday with the hope that they could potentially reopen the beaches to the public on Thursday.

“They are doing water testing today so we will see after those results come out but we will probably find out later today, so hopefully tomorrow but we are not sure,” said Tess Tarpey, a lifeguard at East Beach.

Some residents told ABC 6 News they weren’t aware the beaches were closed until they got there. Lifeguards remained on duty to make sure no one entered the water.

Sarah Stanley, a New Bedford resident told ABC 6 News, “We didn’t know the water was closed. We packed everything up this morning for a full day at the beach but we did not realize until we got here. We were looking for shells and someone came up to us and said that the water was closed for swimming so — kind of bummed about that.”