June 7, 2023
Media Contact: Tes La Dieu, Public Information Contact, 757-594-7411
Swimming Advisory Issued for Hilton and Huntington Park Beaches in Newport News
NEWPORT NEWS, Va. — The Peninsula Health District has issued a swimming advisory for Hilton Park Beach, 225 River Road and Huntington Park Beach, 361 Hornet Circle in Newport News. Samples collected on June 6, by the Peninsula Health District showed that bacteria levels in the water exceeded the state water quality standard.
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.
Signs are posted at the beaches alerting the public of the advisory. The signs read: “Warning swimmers – bacteria levels do not meet state water quality standards, swimming not advised until further notice”.
Additional samples were collected by health officials on Wednesday and results should be available on Thursday. 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.
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.
“We encourage the public to protect their health by complying with this advisory,” said Mary Wainwright, environmental health manager of the Hampton and Peninsula Health Districts. “Typically, an advisory of this nature is temporary and will be withdrawn once the bacteria levels have returned to a safe level.”
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