Official websites use .gov A
.gov website belongs to an official government
organization in the United States.
Secure .gov websites use HTTPS A
lock (
) or https:// means you’ve safely connected to
the .gov website. Share sensitive information only on official,
secure websites.
We sampled seven beaches weekly in Pierce County during the 2025 monitoring season:
Dash Point County Park and Pier
Jack Hyde Park
Purdy Sandspit County Park
Sunnyside Beach Park
Titlow Park
Owen Beach
Waterfront Dock / Ruston Way
Owen Beach in Pierce County
Keeping beaches safe
The Beach Environmental Assessment, Communication & Health (BEACH) Program ensures that marine water is safe to swim and play in and informs the public if water doesn't meet swimming standards. Sampling takes place from Memorial Day to Labor Day. During this time, you can check out current water quality conditions on our swimming map.
The Tacoma-Pierce County Health Department sampled seven beaches weekly in Pierce County during the 2025 season.
See details on each beach below.
Dash Point County Park and Pier beach was sampled eight times during the 2025 swim season. This beach had excellent water quality and met the swimming standards for all sampling events.
Jack Hyde Park beach was sampled 22 times during the 2025 swimming season and had poor water quality. On June 2, sampling results showed elevated bacteria, and subsequent sampling on June 4 showed that the elevated bacteria levels persisted. This resulted in a contamination advisory posted for this beach from June 6 through June 13. Sampling results showed elevated bacteria on June 16 and July 14, which resulted in a contamination advisory posted for this beach from June 18 through Aug. 6. On Aug. 11, sampling results showed elevated bacteria. However, subsequent sampling showed that bacteria had returned to safe levels. Jack Hyde Park Beach met the swimming standards for all other sampling events.
During the 2025 swimming season, Purdy Sandspit County Park beach had excellent water quality. This beach was sampled seven times and met the swimming standard for all sampling events.
During the 2025 swimming season, Sunnyside Beach Park had excellent water quality. This beach was sampled 15 times and met the swimming standard for all sampling events.
During the 2025 swimming season, Titlow Park beach had good water quality. On Aug. 18, sampling results showed elevated bacteria levels. However, subsequent sampling results showed that bacteria had returned to safe levels. This beach was sampled 16 times and met the swimming standard for all other sampling events.
During the 2025 swimming season, Owen Beach had excellent water quality. This beach was sampled 15 times and met the swimming standard for all sampling events.
During the 2025 swimming season, Waterfront Dock / Ruston Way Park beach had good water quality. On June 9, sampling results showed elevated bacteria levels. However, subsequent sampling showed that bacteria had returned to safe levels. This beach was sampled 16 times and met the swimming standard for all other sampling events.
Data summary: Bacteria results compared to standards
The chart below summarizes the bacteria levels at Pierce County beaches in relation to the EPA swimming standard or saltwater swimming criteria. Beaches are considered unsafe for swimming when the geometric mean of enterococcus/100 mL of water is greater than or equal to 30 and the statistical threshold value of enterococcus/100 mL is greater than or equal to 110. We issue a public swimming advisory when enterococcus levels exceed 104 per 100 mL of water.
Table: Calculated geometric mean and statistical threshold value at Pierce County beaches (in enterococcus per 100 mL) for 2025.
Beach
GM
STV
Dash Point County Park and Pier
11
13
Jack Hyde Park
37
195
Purdy Sandspit County Park
9
9
Sunnyside Beach Park
13
25
Titlow Park
19
54
Owen Beach
12
15
Waterfront Dock / Ruston Way
32
250
Contact information
Contact BEACH: Reach BEACH staff, sign up for our email list, or follow us on social media platforms.
