YORKTOWN, Va. — The health department says it is safe to swim at Yorktown Beach and Huntington Park Beach again, after a swimming advisory was lifted Friday.
The Hampton and Peninsula Health Districts (HPHD) tested for water quality at the beach on Wednesday, and said based on those tests, the bacteria levels were too high for people to swim in the water.
However, water quality tests on Thursday came back Friday meeting state standards for recreational waters.
Hilton Park Beach in Newport News remains under advisories that were first issued last week.
The health department does enterococci tests regularly to figure out the extent of fecal contamination in waters at our local beaches. Signs are posted alerting the public whenever the levels are unsafe.
While these enterococci organisms do not cause illness, scientific studies indicate that their presence is closely correlated to the presence of other disease-causing organisms.
People who swim in waters that have high bacteria levels have an increased chance of getting sick.
