In addition to a flag on the beach celebrating Delray Beach’s blue flag status, numerous banners adorn the light poles on both sides of Atlantic Avenue between A1A and the Intracoastal Waterway. Jerry Lower/The Coastal Star
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By Mary Hladky
Boca Raton’s Spanish River Park beach has been awarded the much-coveted Blue Flag Beach Award that signifies it meets stringent environmental and safety standards.
With the award, announced on April 22, the Boca Raton beach becomes only the third in the continental U.S. to be so honored. The others are Delray Beach’s municipal beach and Westward Beach in Malibu, California, which both first received the award in 2023.
Delray Beach also has received good news. On the same day Boca Raton was notified, Delray Beach learned it once again had received the annual award.
Boca Raton planned to hold a flag-raising ceremony at 9 a.m. May 2 at the Spanish River Park beach. Delray Beach was to hold its ceremony at 10 a.m. May 1 at Atlantic Avenue and State Road A1A.
The award recognizes beaches that meet more than 30 environmental, education, water quality, environmental management and safety criteria.
Boca Raton sought the award for the Spanish River Park beach because it is the city’s flagship beach.
The Blue Flag award is administered internationally by the Foundation for Environmental Education, headquartered in Copenhagen, Denmark. Blue Flag USA, operated by the American Shore and Beach Preservation Association, administers the award in the continental United States, Alaska and Hawaii.
Boca Raton now will install new information boards at the park’s central pavilion with details about local conservation efforts, water quality, water safety and eco-friendly practices, the city said. The city’s free educational programs offered through Gumbo Limbo Nature Center helped the city win the award.
“Our residents and visitors can take pride in knowing that Spanish River Park beach meets some of the highest standards in the world,” Mayor Scott Singer said in a statement.
Delray Beach was honored with the award for the third straight year.
“We at the City of Delray Beach are incredibly proud to receive this prestigious international award again,” Delray Beach Public Works Assistant Director Cynthia Buisson said in a statement.
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