2 Bay Beaches On Long Beach Island Have Elevated Bacteria Levels

LONG BEACH TOWNSHIP, NJ The state Department of Environmental Protection has issued advisories about higher than normal levels of bacteria found in two bay beaches on Long Beach Island.

Both the 25th Street bathing beaches in Barnegat Light and the bay beach at West Pennsylvania Avenue showed showed elevated test results from samples taken on Wednesday. If the beaches have a second consecutive day of high readings, they will be closed temporarily, according to the DEP.

Testing is done every week at roughly 180 ocean and 35 bay monitoring stations throughout the state. Samples are analyzed for the presence of enterococci, a bacteria present in both animal and human waste that indicates possible water contamination.

The DEP considers water on a bathing beach over the acceptable limit if the number of colony forming units (CFU) is over 104 per 100 milliliters.

Any initial sample that exceeds the state standard requires that the local health agency issue a swimming advisory at the bathing beach where the sample was collected, according to the DEP's Coastal Monitoring Program.

The advisories warn the public of potentially unhealthy water conditions. Additional sampling is conducted until water quality results reach the acceptable standards.

Photo: Courtesy of Harvey Cedars Beach Patrol.