Bacteria levels exceeding Virginia’s State Water Quality Standards have prompted local officials to recommend avoiding swimming at Yorktown Beach until further notice.
The samples were collected Tuesday by Peninsula Health District. A sign has been posted at the beach to warn the public of the advisory. More samples were collected today, with results due by Thursday. When the State Water Quality Standards are met, the sign will be removed.
PHD officials were searching for indicator organisms including enterococci, a group of organisms used to determine the extent of fecal contamination in recreational waters. Their presence is closely correlated to the presence of disease-causing organisms, and people who swim in waters higher than the standard have an increased risk of developing gastrointestinal illness, according to a PDH news release.
“We encourage the public to protect their health by complying with this advisory,” PDH Director Nzinga Teule-Hekima said in the release. “Typically, an advisory of this nature is temporary and will be withdrawn once the bacteria levels have returned to a safe level.”
