Swimming Advisory Issued for 11 Beaches Along the Jersey Shore

Swimming Advisory Issued for 11 Beaches Along the Jersey Shore

Due to elevated bacterial levels, the state Department of Environmental Protection issued swimming advisories for eleven Jersey Shore beaches on Wednesday, including four ocean beaches.

From Raritan Bay in Monmouth County to Cape May, there are swimming advisories in effect.

According to the NJDEP's beaches website, NJBeaches.org, a swimming advisory is issued for New Jersey beaches when the bacterial count above 104 colonies of Enterococci bacteria per 100 milliliters of sample.

Swim advisories are issued in the area for any initial sample that is found to be above the water quality standard. Beach closures occur when two consecutive samples are above the limit.

Stormwater runoff, sewage released or discarded from recreational boats, and domestic animal and wildlife feces are also sources of enterococci in water. Nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, sore throat, runny nose, earaches, skin rashes, and flu-like symptoms can all result from swimming in contaminated water. Check for list of Swim Advisories.

The beaches on Ocean Avenue and Brooklyn Avenue in Cape May, as well as Brown Avenue South and York Avenue in Spring Lake, are the four ocean beaches that are under advisories.

The following is a list of the bay and river beaches that are under swimming advisories, from north to south:

The L Street Beach on the Shark River in Belmar and the Raritan Bay beach at the Highlands Rec Center in Atlantic Highlands are both in Monmouth County.

Advisories are in effect for the Hancock Avenue beach on Barnegat Bay in Seaside Heights and the Maxson Avenue and River Avenue beaches on the Manasquan River in Point Pleasant in Ocean County.

An advisory is in effect for Atlantic County's New Jersey Avenue beach near Somers Point on Great Egg Harbor Bay.

The Beesley's Point beach in Upper Township on Great Egg Harbor Bay is located in Cape May County. You can view updated swimming advisories here