New Jersey

No Swimming at NJ Beach After Failed Test

UPDATE: The beach was open again Friday after tests revealed acceptable levels of bacteria.


Some bathers along the Jersey Shore won’t be able to go into the water after a beach failed water quality standards.

Barnegat Light’s 25th Street Beach on Long Beach Island failed a recent water test, according to the state Department of Environmental Protection's Cooperative Coastal Monitoring Program.

DEP spokesman Larry Hajna said that the closure occurred after a test Tuesday revealed unacceptable levels of Enterococcus. The bacteria is used by the state to indicate the possibility of other bacterium in the water.

Hajna said that it isn't uncommon for bacteria to increase in the water at bayside beaches like the 25th Street Beach following heavy rainstorms -- like Sunday's downpours -- because the water doesn't flush out as quickly as it does on the oceanside.

The same beach recently landed on the Natural Resources Defense Council’s list of the 10 worst beaches in New Jersey when it comes to water quality.

The Ocean County beach won’t be reopened until bacteria levels in the water go back below the standard. Hajna said that the state should know later Thursday if water tested Wednesday meets standards.

No other beaches in the area were closed and no other beaches in the state failed the water quality standard, according to monitors. 

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