All But 1 Of New Jersey's Beaches Reopened For Weekend

NEW JERSEY — As New Jersey heads into the final weekend of August, all of the state's beaches are fully reopened except one.

The beach that remains closed is Beachwood west in Ocean County, according to the Department of Environmental Protection's beach report. This is a beach that sits near the mouth of the Toms River. It is still closed as of Friday morning due to a water sample "exceeding water quality standards," particularly for enterococci fecal bacteria.

Also, the beach at the Monmouth Beach Bathing Pavilion was briefly closed Thursday after debris washed up, but it has since reopened, according to a Monmouth County spokesman. The decision to close the beach was made by the state, which did not specify what exactly the debris was. They only said it was “floatable wash-up."

There have been problems earlier this summer of throwaway needles washing up at Monmouth Beach and at Seven Presidents Park in Long Branch. That happened in July, after a few days of heavy rain.

That Beachwood beach was part of 13 beaches that the state DEP closed earlier this week. But as of Friday, all but that one have been reopened.

The 13 beaches, nine in Ocean County and four in Monmouth, were closed because of the presence of enterococci, a fecal bacteria, in the water. The New Jersey State Sanitary Code requires the bacteria concentration to not exceed 104 colonies per 100 milliliters of sample. However, due to sewer run-off and combined sewer overflows, it is common for enterococci to enter New Jersey/New York swimming beaches after a period of heavy rain.

The 13 beaches that were closed by the DEP for enterococci this week were:

• 1st Avenue in Asbury Park City, Monmouth County - now reopen
• Village Beach Club in Loch Arbour Village, Monmouth County - now reopen
• South Bath in Long Branch City, Monmouth County - now reopen
• North Bath in Long Branch City, Monmouth County - now reopen
• 25th St Bay Front in Barnegat Light Borough, Ocean County - now reopen
• Beachwood Beach West in Beachwood Borough, Ocean County - still closed
• Reese Ave Beach in Lavallette Borough, Ocean County - now reopen
• New Jersey Ave in Long Beach Township, Ocean County - now reopen
• East Beach Station Ave in Pine Beach Borough, Ocean County - now reopen
• River Ave Beach, Point Pleasant Borough, Ocean County - now reopen
• Maxon Ave Beach, Point Pleasant Borough, Ocean County - now reopen
• Hancock Ave Beach, Seaside Heights Borough, Ocean County - now reopen
• 5th Ave Bay Front, Seaside Park Borough, Ocean County - now reopen

Initial report: 13 Beaches In NJ Under Swimming Advisory After Bacteria Test (Aug. 25)

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