2 Beaches Under Swim Advisories Due To Bacteria At The Jersey Shore

OCEAN COUNTY, NJ — Two river beaches in Ocean County were under swimming advisories Thursday morning after high levels of bacteria were detected during routine water testing.

The state Department of Environmental Protection posted advisories for Cedar Point beach in South Toms River, along the Toms River, and for Windward Beach in Brick, along the Metedeconk River.

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 the NJDEP's beaches website, NJBeaches.org.

Cedar Point showed 770 colonies per 100 ml in water tested Tuesday, and Windward Beach had 110 colonies, according to the NJDEP.

Any initial sample that exceeds the water quality standard results in swim advisories in the area. Two consecutive subpar samples warrant beach closings.

The state began water testing for the 2025 season on May 13 at the beaches that are open. The NJDEP says 180 beaches monitoring stations are open, and there is monitoring in progress at 48 of them. There are 77 that have not yet opened for the season; some of them, including Beachwood Beach, are anticipated to remain closed all summer.

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.