6 NJ Beaches Under Swim Advisories For Fecal Bacteria Levels

Thursday, Aug. 3 update: All six advisories have expired. There are currently no swimming advisories or closures at New Jersey beaches.

ATLANTIC COUNTY, NJ - Six Garden State beaches, all in Atlantic County, are still under swimming advisories Wednesday issued by the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection due to high levels of fecal bacteria found in water samples, officials said.

New Jersey beaches are placed under a swimming advisory when the concentration of bacteria exceeds 104 colonies of Enterococci bacteria per 100 milliliters of sample, according to NJBeaches.org.

The affected beaches are:

• 19th Avenue Beach, Longport
• 19th Street Beach, Longport
• 26th Avenue Beach, Longport
• Osborne Beach, Margate City
• Washington Beach, Margate City
• Washington Beach, Ventnor City

Any initial sample that exceeds the water quality standard results in swim advisories in the area. Two consecutive subpar samples warrant beach closings, per NJBeaches.org. There were no New Jersey beach closures reported as of Wednesday morning.

The waters were retested Tuesday and results will be updated Wednesday, DEP officials told NJ.com. The swimming advisory will remain in effect until the water quality results are again within standards.

Sources of enterococci in water include stormwater runoff, sewage discharged or dumped from recreational boats, and domestic animal and wildlife waste.

Swimming in polluted water can cause nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, sore throat, runny nose, earaches skin rashes and flu-like symptoms.