August 14, 2025
Media Contact: Tes La Dieu, Population Health Manager, (757) 594-7411
Swimming Advisory Issued For Yorktown Beach, Virginia
NEWPORT NEWS, Va. – The Peninsula Health District has issued a swimming advisory for South Yorktown Beach in Yorktown, VA. Samples collected on August 12 and again on August 13 by the Peninsula Health District showed that bacteria levels in the water exceeded the state water quality standard. The re-samples collected on August 13 by the Peninsula Health District in North Yorktown Beach no longer exceed the state limits and will be removed from the advisory.
Signs were removed from North Yorktown Beach, and additional signs were added to South Yorktown Beach 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.”
“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 “Typically, an advisory of this nature is temporary and will be withdrawn once the bacteria levels have returned to a safe level.”
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 is 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.
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