Beach Closings for the Weekend of July 15

Every week from May to Labor Day, the Ocean County Health Department travels to each salt- and fresh-water location to test them for the bacteria enterococcus and fecal coliform. 

The health department measures how safe the water is to swim in by measuring the number of bacterial colonies in 100 milliliters of water taken from each swimming location in Ocean County.

Enterococcus is highly resistant to antibiotics, which makes it difficult to fight and dangerous for humans.

Exposure to too much fecal coliform may lead to dysentery or typhoid fever

If there are more than 104 colonies of enterococcus per 100 milliliters of salt water, a beach may be closed and then tested again every day until the water is within the standard.

Similarly, more than 200 colonies of fecal coliform per 100 milliliters of fresh water warrant a beach closing. Again, the water would be tested daily until the levels are deemed safe.

This weekend, the following beaches are closed because of bacteria:

• Lake Horicon Beach in Lakehurst (340 colonies of fecal coliform per 100 milliliters);
• Ocean County Park Beach in Lakewood County Park (more than 1200 colonies of fecal coliform per 100 milliliters);
• Tip Seaman Park Beach in Tuckerton (200 colonies of fecal coliform per 100 milliliters).

The upper and lower beaches at Deer Head Lake in Lacey Township came close to being closed this weekend due to moderately high levels of fecal coliform in the water (180 colonies of bacteria per 100 milliliters).

The other beaches surveyed and deemed safe for swimming by the Ocean County Health Department this week are:

• Harry Wright Lake Beach in Manchester;
• Glen Cedar Park Beach in Berkeley;
• Forest Row and Lake Barnegat in Lacey;
• A. Paul King Park Beach in Stafford County Park;
• Stockton Avenue beaches in Long Beach Township.