UPDATE: The three beach advisories have been lifted. The lake advisories remain in effect as of Thursday morning.
Three Jersey Shore beaches are under water quality advisories on Wednesday due to high fecal bacterial levels, down from 11 beaches on Tuesday.
All three beaches are in Monmouth County. No beach closures were reported on Wednesday.
Parvin State Park in Pittsgrove, Salem County remains closed to swimming due to a harmful algal bloom.
Beach Advisories:
Four freshwater lakes are also under swimming advisories. They include:
Residents and visitors are advised to stay informed about current beach conditions and follow local safety recommendations.
When a sample has more than 104 colony forming units of enterococci, the beach is placed under a swimming advisory and the water is tested again the next day.
Enterococci is a type of bacteria that is an indicator of possible contamination within bathing water that can include human or animal waste.
If the second samples remain higher than 104, the beaches will be closed to swimming until the sample falls under the limit.
High levels of bacteria are usually caused by stormwater runoff from rain, officials said.
The Department of Environmental Protection says swimming in or making contact with polluted water can cause gastrointestinal symptoms such as nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, and abdominal pain, respiratory symptoms like sore throat, cough, runny nose, and sneezing, eye and ear symptoms including irritation, earache, and itchiness, dermatological symptoms like skin rash and itching, and flu-like symptoms such as fever and chills.
Generative AI was used to produce an initial draft of this story, which was reviewed and edited by NJ Advance Media staff.
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