YORKTOWN — The Peninsula Health District has issued a swimming advisory for Yorktown Beach (Site area 1).
Samples collected on July 22 by the Peninsula Health District showed that bacteria levels in the water exceeded the state water quality standard, it said.
Signs have been posted alerting the public of the advisory.
“We encourage the public to protect their health by complying with this advisory,” said Mary Wainwright, Environmental Health Manager of the Hampton and Peninsula Health Districts. “Typically, an advisory of this nature is temporary and will be withdrawn once the bacteria levels have returned to a safe level.”
Recreational waters are monitored for bacteria routinely during the summer swimming season using indicator organisms such as enterococci, the indicator of choice for estuarine and marine waters, according to the Peninsula Health District.
Enterococci is a group of organisms used to determine the extent of fecal contamination of recreational waters, it adds. While these organisms do not cause illness, scientific studies indicate that their presence is closely correlated to the presence of other disease-causing organisms.
People swimming or playing in waters with bacteria levels higher than the standard have an increased risk of developing gastrointestinal illness, according to the Peninsula Health District.
