Massachusetts is closing another correctional facility, in the latest change to the state’s prison system amid its declining population.

The Massachusetts Department of Correction announced Thursday that Old Colony Correctional Center in Bridgewater will no longer house inmates due to the facility’s condition and renovation needs. The state said not renovating the facility will save about $2.6 million.

OCCC-Minimum, constructed 40 years ago, is a minimum security men’s facility that focuses on mental health located on the same campus as a medium security facility, Bridgewater State Hospital, and the Massachusetts Treatment Center, all of which will stay open. 

OCCC-Minimum, which has 160 beds, currently has 70 people incarcerated there, the DOC said. Those individuals will be transferred to other minimum security facilities, including Boston Pre-Release Center, Northeastern Correctional Center, and Pondville Correctional Center. Overall, those facilities are operating at 59 percent capacity, according to the department’s weekly inmate reports.

The 26 staff members will be reassigned to OCCC’s medium security facility on the same campus, MADOC said. While the state did not say exactly when the facility will close, all inmates will be transferred out by Oct. 31.

DOC’s declining population

The announcement to shutter OCCC-Minimum comes just a month after the closure of MCI-Concord, the state’s oldest prison. Its closure saves about $16 million annually. The state dissolved housing at maximum-security facility MCI-Cedar Junction in Walpole last year.

“The historically low population within the DOC allows us to assess our facility needs in order to be a fiscally responsible partner in the state of Massachusetts,” Shawn Jenkins, DOC’s interim director, said in a statement. “The DOC will continue to empower our housed individuals to succeed upon release and we believe the closure of this facility and relocation of the current population will help them flourish.”

Massachusetts’s prison population has declined over the last decade. In 2014, the department reported more than 11,700 inmates. Earlier this month, the DOC said there are 6,050 inmates across their 18 facilities.

Summer may be winding down, but there is still time to hit the beach. Just make sure you visit an open one. These 86 beaches across Massachusetts are closed as of Aug. 22 due to bacteria concerns. 

The Massachusetts Department of Public Health says bacteria levels tend to rise right after periods of heavy rainfall. Dirty runoff from the streets gathers excrement and other harmful bacteria in the sewers, which in turn can run into nearby bodies of water.

Swimming in unsafe water can potentially lead to a bevy of health problems. The most frequent and notable effects are gastrointestinal symptoms, like nausea and diarrhea. When ingested, bacteria can also cause flu-like symptoms, skin rashes, and eye-nose-throat problems.

It is unclear when the beaches will reopen. Water testing results take 24 hours, DPH says, so results typically come out the next day. For now, the department warns beachgoers to be vigilant and check its interactive beach water quality dashboard. 

List of beaches closed as of Thursday, Aug. 22

Beaches with an * indicate beaches that were closed for over a week. Two asterisks (**) indicate the beach has been closed for more than two weeks. Three asteristcs (***) indicate the beach has been closed for more than 3 weeks. Beaches with a † indicate beaches that have been closed for more than one month.

Amherst

• Puffers Pond*
• Stanley St. swimming hole*

Ashby

Ashland

Barnstable 

• Eugenia Fortes
• Kalmus Ocean
• Wequaquet Lake Town*
• Wequaquet Lake Yacht Club*

Beverly

• Mingo
• Obear Park
• Woodburty

Boston

• Constitution
• Malibu
• Savin Hill
• Tenean

Braintree

Brewster

Chilmark

Clarksburg

Cohasset

Concord

Danvers

Dartmouth

Dennis

Framingham

• Learned Pond Beach**
• Waushakum Beach

Franklin

Gloucester

• Cressy’s
• Good Harbor Creek
• Half Moon
• Plum Cove

Grafton

Haverhill

Holland

Kingston

• Gray’s Beach*
• Rocky Nook

Lowell

• Merrimac River Bath House**

Lynn

• Kings†
• Lynn Shore Beach†

Manchester

Medford

Nahant

• Black Rock
• Nahant Beach**

Nantucket

• Sesachacha Pond†
• Washing Pond

Natick

• Cochituate State Park Beach***

North Andover

• Fyre Pond Beach*
• Stevens Pond – Center***

Northampton

Oxford

Plymouth

Provincetown

Quincy

• Wollaston at Channing, Milton, Sachem Streets and Rice Road

Salem

• Camp Naumkeag†
• Children’s Island†
• Ocean Avenue***
• Willow Avenue**

Sandwich

Saugus

• Pearce Lake**
• Peckham Pond

Scituate

Shutesbury

Southwick

Springfield

Swampscott

Swansea

• Cedar Cove Club
• Leeside
• Sandy Beach
• Swansea Town BEach

Templeton

Townsend

Truro

• Longnook**
• Noon’s Landing

Wayland

West Stockbridge

West Tisbury

Westborough

Winchendon

Winchester

Winthrop

Worcester

• Shore Park**
• Indian Lake***
• Lake Quinsigamond-Regatta Point Beach***