Sandy Hook Beach Re-Opened

Sandy Hook, NJ - Lot D beach at Sandy Hook has been re-opened Thursday morning, a National Park Service spokeswoman informed Patch. Ideal Beach in Middletown, however, remains closed for the second straight day due to the same fecal bacteria.

The beach was closed Wednesday morning after a high count of bacteria was found in the ocean water there. The bacteria found was enterococcus bacteria, commonly found in the intestines of humans, and in human and animal waste. Pete McCarthy, coordinator of the Sandy Hook Unit of Gateway National Park, said he wasn't sure if the bacteria came from combined sewer overflow.

But that's the likely cause, as sewer lines often overflow into bodies of water after periods of heavy rain. The New Jersey Department of Health routinely tests all the state's beaches for enterococci. The state's Sanitary Code requires that the concentration of bacteria not exceed 104 colonies of bacteria per 100 milliliters of sample. Anything more than this may be harmful to human health, and a beach will be closed until bacteria levels drop.