Swimming Advisory In Place For Bay Beaches In Long Branch, Belmar

MONMOUTH COUNTY, NJ — Beaches in Long Branch and Belmar are under swimming advisories after water tests showed high bacteria levels, the state Department of Environmental Protection said.

The South Bath beach in Long Branch City and the L Street Beach beach in Belmar are among five beaches that had high levels of Enterococci following Monday's weekly testing, the DEP said.

All of the beaches that exceeded the level were retested Tuesday; the state updates the status of the beaches in the afternoon.

In Long Branch, the test showed 170 colonies per 100 milliliters of water. The Belmar bay beach had a reading that exceeded 290 colonies per 100 milliliters of water.

The maximum allowable level is 104 colonies of Enterococci bacteria per 100 milliliters.

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 requires that the local health agency issue 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.