The Checkup: New Jersey Beaches Ranked Fourth for Good Water Quality

• Phew—we can swim with confidence, people. The annual water-quality report from the National Resources Defense Council found New Jersey beaches to be in pretty good shape. They ranked fourth out of 30 states for cleanliness, with only 3 percent of beaches exceeding the state’s bacterial standards. Of the 700 ocean and bay beaches in New Jersey, the NRDC kept tabs on 226 of them, testing the water once a week mid-May through September. The top five dirtiest beaches in the state were in Ocean and Monmouth Counties. Last year, beaches were closed on 131 days, a 20 percent increase from 2010’s 109 days. This is due to the relatively wet summer we had, according to the report, which led to “an increase in precautionary ‘rain provisional’ closings at beaches.” Most of our contamination (79 percent) comes from storm-water runoff. Check out the full report for data on individual Jersey beaches.

• Military wives are baring all to make a statement. (Sound familiar?) This time, the military’s not making them stop.

• Ever wonder if you’re colorblind? Here’s a test you can take right now to find out.