SEASIDE PARK, NJ – The New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection (NJDEP) has closed the bayfront kiddie beach at Fifth Avenue in Seaside Park due to high levels of fecal bacteria.
Water samples taken at two separate test sites on Tuesday showed bacterial concentrations of 100 and 290 colonies of Enterococci bacteria per 100 milliliters, exceeding the state’s safe swimming threshold of 104 colonies.
As of Wednesday, Seaside Park’s bayfront beach is the only beach in the state with a swimming closure. The NJDEP advises swimmers to avoid the water at beaches with high bacterial counts.
In addition to Seaside Park, two Monmouth County beaches, Broad Street Beach in Keyport and Plum Island Beach in Middletown, remain under swimming advisories due to high bacteria levels, though no updated data has been provided for them as of Wednesday.