MDEQ Issues Water Contact Advisories
(JACKSON, Miss.) — The Mississippi Department of Environmental Quality (MDEQ), through its Beach Monitoring Program, issued water contact advisories Tuesday for five sampling stations. These segments of beach are not closed; however, there may be an increased risk of illness associated with swimming in these areas.
MDEQ is working closely with local officials to advise residents that the water in the following locations may have high bacteria levels:
● Station 7 — Pass Christian East Beach — from Espy Avenue east to Hayden Avenue.
●Station 7A — Long Beach Beach — from Oak Gardens east to Girard.
●Station 8 — Gulfport West Beach — from Marie Avenue to Camp Avenue.
●Station 9 — Gulfport Harbor Beach — from 20th Avenue east to Thornton Avenue.
●Station 10 — Gulfport Central Beach — from Alfonso Drive to Arkansas Avenue.
When water samples show that levels are safe for human contact, the advisories will be lifted. The Gulf Coast Research Laboratory, which performs water sampling of the Mississippi Gulf Coast beaches for MDEQ, notifies the agency when an area has returned to acceptable levels.
Additionally, swimmers are reminded that the Beach Task Force has a standing recommendation that swimming not occur during or within 24 hours of a significant rainfall event.
More information on the Mississippi Beach Monitoring Program:
http://www.usm.edu/gcrl/msbeach/index.cgi.
To receive beach advisories directly, send an email to rwilbur@deq.state.ms.us for inclusion in a public group email list, text “MDEQbeach” to 95577, or follow MDEQ on Twitter: @MDEQ.
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