However, the 200 cupid costumed participants can take some cold comfort in knowing that South Boston's beaches are among the cleanest urban beaches in the nation, according to a recent study conducted by Save the Harbor/Save the Bay policy interns Vincent Pei, Jingwei Zhang and Mehar Kaur.
Boston's Harbor is a chilly 35 degrees - and very, very clean!
The study compared water quality on urban beaches in South Boston with data from iconic American urban beaches including New York's Coney Island, Virginia Beach, VA, Miami's South Beach, Santa Monica Beach in California and Waikiki Beach in Hawaii from 2011 to 2013.
The results? South Boston's beaches topped the list, scoring 98.2%, followed by Virginia Beach, VA at 97.67%, South Beach, Fl at 97.38%, Waikiki Beach, Hi at 97.05%, Coney Island Beach, NY at 95% and Santa Monica, CA at 81.74%.
"Thanks to Save the Harbor's sustained advocacy and continued investment in clean water by the Massachusetts Water Resources Authority and the Boston Water and Sewer Commission, South Boston is now home to some of the cleanest urban beaches in America" said Save the Harbor/Save the Bay's Director of Strategy, Communications and Programs Bruce Berman. "After the wicked winter we have had here we will still freeze our fannies off tomorrow, but its good to know that we will be splashing in very clean water!"
"Its only fair to point out that water temperatures on Saturday at Waikiki Beach in Honolulu will be 78 degrees, 73 degrees on Miami's South Beach and a refreshing 66 degrees at the Santa Monica Pier." said Berman. "But on the bright side, we have more snow!"
Save the Harbor/Save the Bay will publish the final results of the study in the spring when they issue their annual Water Quality Report Card on the Boston Harbor Region's public beaches in Lynn, Nahant, Revere, Winthrop, East Boston, South Boston, Dorchester, Quincy and Hull.
In the meantime, if you care about clean water and aren't afraid of cold water, you can join them for a quick dip, a refreshing Harpoon Beer and a burger, and the chance to win JetBlue flights at the Harpoon Helps Cupid Splash plunge and pledge fundraiser at noon on Saturday, March 21.
Funds raised at the event will support free beach events and programs from Nahant to Nantasket this summer, when the water will be much warmer!
To register for the Harpoon Helps Cupid Splash, or to make a donation to support clean water and free beach programs, visit www.cupidsplash.com
To find out more about the results of this study, call Bruce Berman directly on his cell at 617-293-6243 or email him at bruce@bostonharbor.com
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