NORFOLK, Va. – The Norfolk Department of Public Health has lifted the swimming advisory for East Community Beach in Ocean View on Wednesday.
The advisory was issued Tuesday after water testing revealed enterococci bacteria levels at these locations previously exceed state water quality standards.
Signs were posted alerting the public of the advisory. Re-sampling of the water at the beach has determined that levels of enterococci organisms are within State Water Quality Standards, so all signs are being removed.
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.
Enterococci are a group of organisms used to determine the extent of fecal contamination of recreational waters. 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.
