5 Ocean County Beaches Closed Due To High Fecal Bacteria

OCEAN COUNTY, NJ — Five beaches in Ocean County were closed on Wednesday after water tests detected high levels of fecal bacteria.

Each week, the state Department of Environmental Protection conducts water quality monitoring at 180 ocean and 35 bay monitoring stations along the New Jersey coast.

The samples taken on Wednesday from five river and bay beaches showed high levels of Enterococci, a bacteria found in animal and human waste. High levels of this bacteria are an indicator of poor bathing water quality.

Samples of Enterococci bacteria cannot exceed 104 colonies per 100 milliliters, according to state regulations. The DEP places beaches under an advisory if they exceed the state limit once. Beaches are closed if two straight samples at a bathing beach exceed the water-quality standard.

These beaches were closed as of Thursday:

• Reese Avenue bay beach in Lavallette
• 25th Street Bay Front in Barnegat Light
• Beachwood Beach West river beach in Beachwood
• East Beach Station Avenue river beach in Pine Beach
• Hancock Avenue bay beach in Seaside Heights

The swimming advisories at eight other beaches in Ocean and Monmouth counties were lifted Wednesday after their follow-up samples had fewer than 104 colonies of enterococci.

The water at the closed beaches were resampled Wednesday and the results will be released Thursday. If the sample is below 104 colonies of enterococci, the swimming closure will be lifted, and the water will not be resampled by the DEP again until Monday.

Enterococci are typically not considered harmful to humans, but their presence in the environment may indicate that other disease-causing agents such as viruses, bacteria and protozoa may also be present, according to the federal Environmental Protection Agency.

A higher presence of Enterococci becomes more likely after heavy rainfall, which the state experienced over the weekend with Tropical Storm Henri, as it can flush bacteria from bird, dog, or other animal waste into rivers and streams.

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