All Jersey Shore ocean beaches open again after bacteria levels drop

ATLANTIC CITY  — The latest tests of Jersey Shore ocean beaches led to all of the closed beaches being reopened, officials said Thursday.

All the earlier advisories were lifted following the latest result of monitoring of 217 beaches checked by the New Jersey Cooperative Coastal Monitoring.

Fifteen beaches had been closed on Wednesday after two consecutive tests with higher-than-normal levels of enterococci, a type of bacteria found in animal and human waste. It usually occurs following heavy rain.

The weekend forecast calls for torrential rain to fall on Friday night and Saturday, meaning there could be more advisories and closures next week.

"Even when this coastal storm system clears out and the wet weather comes to an end, the beaches may remain unfit for public use for several more days due to bacteria levels," New Jersey 101.5 Chief Meteorologist Dan Zarrow said.

Contact reporter Dan Alexander at dan.alexander@townsquaremedia.com.

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