The advisory was issued at one of the most popular beaches in NYC, as the water at Orchard Beach was found to have elevated levels of bacteria that could make swimmers sick. But there were no signs or officials warning of the bacteria levels at the beach. NBC New York’s Myles Miller reports.
Bronx residents looking to cool off in the high heat and humidity should avoid swimming or wading at Orchard Beach, city officials said Thursday.
New York City emergency officials warned via social media that swimming and wading were not recommended "due to inadequate water quality."
NYC Parks referred questions about the water quality advisory to the city's health department, which said in a statement that going in the water was not recommended in order to "prevent contracting a swimming-related illness."
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The advisory came after a July 9 sample of the water found higher levels of enterococci, a bacteria the Health Department said "lives in the intestinal tracks of warm-blooded animals and is used as an indicator organism for evaluating beach water quality." The testing showed a bacteria count level of 145, far above the safe limit of 104 set by the state's health department.
If water is ingested, officials said the bacteria can cause urinary tract infections, blood infections and endocarditis, an inflammation of the lining of the heart's values and chambers.
Despite the advisory, there were no signs or officials seen at the beach warning of the elevated bacteria in the water.
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It was not immediately clear how long the advisory would last, as it depended on bacteria levels in future samples. The NYC Health Department said that beaches can be classified into three categories — open, advisory or closed — based on environmental or public health factors.
The advisory comes after three Long Island beaches in Amityville, Copiague and Bayport were closed with elevated bacteria levels as well, likely caused by runoff from recent rains.
For latest updates on advisories and closings, the city has an interactive map available on their website.
