Lower Fairfield County Receives Mixed Grades for its Beaches

Across southwest Connecticut, nine of 26 beaches received an A or higher for their water quality. But six of 26 beaches received a C or worse, according to the latest beach grades from Save the Sound, an environmental nonprofit. 

“As we have seen over the years, there consistently is a high number of beaches that receive great marks for swimming all around Long Island Sound,” said Peter Linderoth, director of healthy waters and lands for Save the Sound in a statement. “But as we also have seen, nearly one-quarter of Sound beaches face some level of water quality challenges that need to be looked into and addressed.”

The grades are based on water quality data collected the year prior and include dry days and those that included rain as wet days tend to have worse water quality due to stormwater runoff.

According to Save the Sound, almost 18% of all samples collected under wet conditions failed to meet safe-swimming criteria. 

“Stormwater pollution is a leading challenge to water quality at Long Island Sound beaches,” said Linderoth in a statement. “Expanding the use of green infrastructure—rain gardens, bioswales, green roofs, constructed wetlands—is a critical step toward reducing stormwater runoff. The more stormwater can be filtered or diverted before reaching the Sound, the more water quality will improve, and the better a beach’s grade will be.”

Let’s explore the grades for our region and what they mean.

The top beaches in Lower Fairfield County

As noted above, nine beaches scored A’s or higher for their water quality in 2025. These include: 

• Great Captain Island Beach in Greenwich (A+)
• Island Beach in Greenwich (A)
• Greenwich Point Beach in Greenwich (A+)
• Weed Beach in Darien (A+)
• Pear Tree Point Beach in Darien (A+)
• Rowayton Beach in Norwalk (A+)
• Bell Island Beach in Norwalk (A+)
• Marvin Beach in Norwalk (A+)
• Sasco Beach in Fairfield (A+)

Worst-performing beaches in Lower Fairfield County

On the opposite end of the spectrum, six beaches in our region reported grades of C or lower. Those include:

• Byram Park Beach in Greenwich (D+)
• West Beach in Stamford (C-)
• Compo Beach in Westport (C)
• Penfield Beach in Fairfield (C-)
• Seabright Beach in Bridgeport (C-)
• Seaside Park Beach in Bridgeport (D)

These grades meant that the beaches had multiple failures as high levels of bacteria were detected. For example, water quality samples at Byram Park Beach failed 36% of the time, according to Save the Sound data. 

Beaches usually fail for having high counts of fecal indicator bacteria detected in the water, as that can make people sick. Some of the reasons for high levels of bacteria, according to Save the Sound, include “untreated sewage, improperly disposed of dog waste, local wildlife inputs such as resident Canada geese, or polluted stormwater entering the waters at or near a beach.”

What can be done?

Save the Sound said it shares these grades to allow residents and their elected officials to help them better understand the waters in the Sound. Residents who are concerned about the grades for their beach—or who want to be involved in efforts to improve water quality in the Sound—are encouraged to reach out to their local officials and local health departments. They’re also invited to reach out to Save the Sound to join efforts to improve Long Island Sound.  

You can explore all the beach grades for Long Island Sound at soundhealthexplorer.org