1 NJ Beach Closed To Swimming For Bacteria, 4 Advisories Lifted

NEW JERSEY — Swimming has been banned at one New Jersey beach on Wednesday afternoon but advisories were lifted at four others after water samples showed bacteria levels had dropped at all but one beach, the state Department of Environmental Protection said.

The bayside beach in Long Beach Township is closed to swimming after the follow-up tests, the DEP said. The Enterococci level, which had be more than 600 colonies per 100 milliliters of water in Monday's sample, had fallen to 230 and 240 colonies in Tuesday's samples, taken from two spots at the beach. The maximum allowable level is 104 colonies.

Bay beaches in Lavallette and Seaside Heights, the L Street Beach in Belmar on the Shark River, and the South Bath Avenue beach on the ocean in Long Branch all had levels had high levels of Enterococci following Monday's weekly testing, the DEP said.

Enterococci are typically not considered harmful to humans, but their presence may indicate other disease-causing agents such as viruses, bacteria, and protozoa may also be present.

The South Bath Avenue beach dropped from 170 colonies to less than 10. At the L Street Beach, the level fell from 290 colonies to less than 10. In Lavallette, Tuesday's sample showed 20 colonies, down from 120 colonies.

Seaside Heights, which tested at exceeding 600 colonies, was at 50 colonies after the retest.

Enterococci are bacteria that live in the intestinal tracts of warm-blooded animals, including humans, and therefore indicate possible contamination by fecal waste, the federal Environmental Protection Agency says. Sources include stormwater runoff, sewage discharged or dumped from recreational boats, and domestic animal and wildlife waste.

"There are also natural, non-fecal sources of fecal indicator bacteria, including plants, sand, soil and sediments, that contribute to a certain background level in ambient waters and vary based on local environmental and meteorological conditions," the EPA website says.

Any initial sample that exceeds the water quality standard prompts a swimming advisory at the bathing beach where the sample was collected.

Beaches are closed to swimming if two consecutive samples collected at a bathing beach exceed the water quality standard. Beach closings remain in effect until subsequent sampling indicates bacteria levels are again below the standard, the DEP said.

Note: This article has been updated with the results of Tuesday's testing.

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