County Tests Ocean Water Quality

The Ocean County Health Department this summer is testing for Enterococcus bacteria to make sure it poses no threat to swimmers.

In the latest test data available from the department, the ocean water quality at Brick Beach III as well as the 7th Ave. ocean beach contained less than 10 colony-forming units (cfu) of Enterococcus bacteria per 100 milliliters of water. At Windward Beach, the water contained 40cfu.

Beaches must close after two consecutive tests show 104cfu or higher, according to the state Department of Environmental Protection.

The latest tests were performed July 30. Tests over the past several weeks show Enterococcus levels as low as 10cfu and as high as 80cfu at Windward. Ocean beaches have remained steady at reading showing less than 10cfu.

Water samples are taken at some of the beaches by the Ocean County Health Department and tested at the Ocean County Utilities Authority lab. Readers can keep tabs of the frequent testing data on the county website. Visit here to download the latest .pdf file of the tests.