Swimming Banned At River Beach In Ocean County Due To Bacteria

BEACHWOOD, NJ — Swimming has been banned at the Beachwood borough beach on the Toms River due to high fecal bacteria levels, according to the state Department of Environmental Protection.

The beach has had repeated high levels of Enterococci bacteria since an initial sample Monday exceeded the standard, which is 104 colonies of Enterococci bacteria per 100 milliliters of sampled water.

Any initial sample that exceeds the water quality standard results in swim advisories, and closures result when resampling shows the standard is still exceeded.

On Monday, the sample was 130 colonies. Resampling on Tuesday showed 110 colonies, and the same on Wednesday. July 4th sampling showed a level of 250 colonies at the beach.

It is the second straight week where the first sample was high. On June 24, the DEP sampling showed 400 colonies at the beach. The resampling on June 25 showed the levels had decreased to 60.

The beaches are resampled daily until the water quality results are 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.