Update 5:30 p.m. Thursday: The Peninsula Health District lifted the swimming advisory for Yorktown Beach Thursday evening.
Water tests showed bacteria levels in the water Wednesday exceeded state water quality standards, but were back below the threshold Thursday, according to a Peninsula Health District news release.
Original story:
The Peninsula Health District issued a swimming advisory for Yorktown Beach Wednesday after high levels of bacteria were found in the water.
According to a Peninsula Health District press release, samples collected Wednesday showed that bacteria levels in the water exceeded the state water quality standards.
Wednesday’s advisory was one of multiple advisories issued throughout the region.
“We encourage the public to protect their health by complying with this advisory,” said Dr. S. William Berg, director of the Peninsula Health District said in a release. “Typically, an advisory of this nature is temporary and will be withdrawn once the bacteria levels have returned to a safe level.”
The test was part of a series of routine tests done throughout the summer. Recreational waters are monitored “indicator organisms” such as enterococci, a group of organisms used to determine the extent of fecal contamination in water.
While these organisms do not cause illness, scientific studies indicate that their presence is closely correlated to the presence of other disease-causing organisms,” the release read. “People swimming or playing in waters with bacteria levels higher than the standard have an increased risk of developing gastrointestinal illness.”
Signs were posted at the beach alerting the public of the advisory, the release stated.
Health officials will remove the signs and notify the public again when the bacteria levels decrease to levels that meet the state water quality standards.
