MDEQ Issues Water Contact Advisory for Station in Hancock County
(JACKSON, Miss.) — The Mississippi Department of Environmental Quality (MDEQ), through its Beach Monitoring Program, issued a water contact advisory Friday for a sampling station in Hancock County. This segment of beach is not closed; however, there may be an increased risk of illness associated with swimming in this area.
MDEQ is working closely with local officials to advise residents that the water in the following location may have high bacteria levels:
●Station 4 — Bay St. Louis Beach — from the box culvert east to Ballantine Street.
Advisories are also in effect for the following stations:
●Station 7 — Pass Christian East — from Espy Avenue east to Hayden Avenue.
●Station 9 — Gulfport Harbor — from 20th Avenue east to Thornton Avenue.
●Station 10 — Gulfport Central — from Alfonso Drive east to Arkansas Avenue.
●Station 10B — East Courthouse Rd. — from Courthouse Road east to Tegarden Road.
●Station 12A — Biloxi West Central — from Travia Avenue east to Iberville Drive.
Also, a closure was issued April 2 for:
●Station 5 — Pass Christian West — from Fort Henry east to Elliot 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.
# # #
