High Bacteria Levels Spark Beach Closures Along The Jersey Shore: See Where

High fecal bacteria levels have sparked swimming closures at beaches along the Jersey Shore on Wednesday, according to the latest data from the NJ Department of Environmental Protection.

The closures come in the wake of severe storms that dumped several inches of rain at the shore over the Fourth of July weekend and on Monday that led to flash flooding and roof collapses at two businesses in Monmouth County.

Four beaches — including one oceanfront beach — have swimming bans in place after two days of testing showed levels of Enterococci bacteria exceeding 104 colonies per 100 milliliters of water, the NJ DEP said.

Any site that exceeds the 104 colonies of Enterococci is placed under a swim advisory, and the levels are retested the next day. If a swim ban is imposed, the water is retested until the level falls into the acceptable range.

On Tuesday, there were a dozen oceanfront beaches under swimming advisories because tests on Monday showed levels above the standard. Retests conducted Tuesday found the levels had dropped into the state's acceptable range for all but four sites.

The beaches where swimming is barred are The Terrace beach on the ocean in Sea Girt; the Highlands Recreation Center beach on Sandy Hook Bay in Atlantic Highlands; the L Street Beach on the Shark River in Belmar, and the Stockton Avenue beach on Barnegat Bay on Long Beach Island.

Following the storms, the list of swimming advisories was much longer:

Monmouth County

• Ocean Beaches
  • Village Beach Club (Loch Arbour Village)
  • 3rd (Asbury Park City)
  • Imperial House (Long Branch City)
  • 7th Ave (Asbury Park City)
  • Spray Ave. (Neptune Township)
  • Sylvania (Avon-by-the-Sea Borough)
  • Deal Casino (Deal Borough)
  • Cedar (Allenhurst Borough)
  • L Jetty, Washington Ave (Avon-by-the-Sea Borough)
  • Hathaway Avenue Beach (Deal Borough)
  • Roosevelt Ave (Deal Borough)
  • The Terrace (Sea Girt Borough)
  • Philips Ave (Deal Borough)
• Bay
  • Miller Beach (Atlantic Highlands Borough)
  • Highlands Rec Center (Atlantic Highlands Borough)
• River
  • L Street Beach (Belmar Borough)

Cape May County

• Bay
  • Beesley's Point Beach (Upper Township)

Ocean County

• Bay
  • Stockton (Long Beach Township)

Enterococci, which are bacteria found in animal and human waste, can be an indicator of poor bathing water quality.

Swimming in water with high levels of Enterococci can cause nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, sore throat, runny nose, earaches, skin rashes and flu-like symptoms, the NJDEP said.

Stormwater runoff is a frequent cause of spikes in bacteria levels, and some areas in Monmouth County had more than 5 inches of rain from Friday evening through mid-day on Monday.

Read More:

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• See Video Of BJ's Roof Collapse In Monmouth County
• Vacant Motel Collapses In Monmouth County: See The Video
• Flooding, Storm Cleanup Continues In NJ; See How Much Rain Fell