New Jersey’s Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) has issued swimming advisories at five coastal locations in Ocean and Cape May counties due to elevated levels of enterococci, a type of bacteria used to measure water quality at recreational swimming sites.

Affected Beaches

The coastal advisories include Cedar Point Beach and Beachwood Beach West in Ocean County, as well as Wildwood and Bay, Baywyn and Bay, and Ferry and Bay in Lower Township, Cape May County. Water testing at New Jersey’s public recreational bathing beaches is carried out regularly by the DEP, working with the New Jersey Department of Health and local health officials.

State standards allow no more than 104 enterococci colonies per 100 milliliters of sampled water. If a test result exceeds that threshold, a swimming advisory is issued and additional samples are collected until water quality returns to acceptable levels.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) lists several possible sources of enterococci, including wastewater treatment plant discharges, leaking septic systems, stormwater runoff, sewage released from recreational boats, and waste from domestic animals and wildlife. While the EPA says enterococci are typically not considered harmful to humans, the bacteria can serve as a warning sign that other disease-causing organisms may be present in the water.

Original reporting: Fox News (HLL/CB) — read the source article.