MDEQ Lifts Beach Water Contact Advisory in Ocean Springs

(Jackson, Miss.) – The Mississippi Department of Environmental Quality (MDEQ), through its Beach Monitoring Program, lifted a water contact advisory Friday for Station 15 (Shearwater Beach) in Ocean Springs. Water samples at this station show the area has attained acceptable bacteria levels.

An advisory issued for Station 10B (East Courthouse Road Beach) in Gulfport remains in effect.

This segment of beach is not closed; however, there may be an increased risk of illness associated with swimming in this area. When water samples show that levels are safe for human contact, the advisory will be lifted.

An advisory is issued when bacteria levels exceed water quality criteria and pose an increased risk to human health. Under the Mississippi Beach Monitoring Program, water is tested for the presence of Enterococcus bacteria, which is an indicator for bacteria pollution. When an advisory is issued, water contact should be avoided.

The advisory is lifted for:

An advisory remains in effect for:

The Beach Task Force has a standing recommendation that swimming not occur during or within 24 hours of a significant rainfall event.

As a reminder, MDEQ lifted water contact warnings on October 4 when results for water samples collected October 2 for toxicity testing for a blue-green Harmful Algal Bloom (HAB) were all below the EPA guidelines of 8 parts per billion for microcystin toxin.

More information about the Mississippi Beach Monitoring Program and the location of beach sampling stations is available here. To receive beach advisories directly, fill out a contact form for inclusion in a public group email list, text “MDEQbeach” to 95577, or follow MDEQ on Twitter: @MDEQ.

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