NJ beach town announces no swimming for rest of summer because of bacteria levels

Officials of a beach town on the Jersey Shore have announced that it will be closed to swimmers for the remainder of the 2024 season because of high bacteria levels found in the water.

In a statement posted on the borough's website, the mayor and council of Beachwood say that the decision was made "for the safety, health and welfare of the residents and others" due to "the Ocean County Health Department reporting of excessive bacteria levels found in the water."

According to officials, visitors will still be able to enjoy the scenery without swimming.

The full announcement reads:

"For the safety, health and welfare of the residents and others, the Mayor and Council have decided to close swimming at the beach for the remainder of the 2024 season due to the Ocean County Health Department reporting of excessive bacteria levels found in the water. You may still sit and take in the lovely view of the scenery but no one will be permitted to swim.

"For those who purchased beach badges, notice will be provided for refunds shortly. We thank you for your patience."

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According to the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection, "The New Jersey State Sanitary Code’s water quality standard for bathing beaches is determined by the concentration of the indicator bacteria, enterococci. The standard requires that the concentration of bacteria not exceed 104 colonies of Enterococci bacteria per 100 milliliters of sample. An exceedance of the standard may indicate a pollutant impact to bathing waters."

As per guidelines, a beach closes if two consecutive samples collected exceed the allotted bacteria sample.