North Carolina state recreational water quality officials are advising the public to avoid swimming in North Carolina coastal waters from Wright Memorial Bridge in Kitty Hawk south to the South Carolina state line affected by Tropical Storm Debby.
Heavy rains have negatively impacted coastal waters. Waters affected by stormwater runoff can contain elevated levels of harmful bacteria that drain into coastal water bodies.
The excess rain has caused flooding of streets, yards and housing that have resulted in some municipalities having to pump floodwaters into the ocean and sounds.
The North Carolina Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) has advised residents and visitors to avoid swimming near ocean outfalls, including the wet sand where the floodwater is pumped, even if no sign is posted.
While state officials do not have immediate laboratory confirmation that disease-causing organisms are in the water, storm impacts increase the chance that contamination is present, thus increasing the risk of adverse health effects from swimming in these waters.
Residents and visitors should avoid swimming in these waters until testing indicates bacteria levels are within the states and U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPAs) standards.
The advisory will be lifted in part or in whole as test results become available.
Testing of the waters will continue on a reduced schedule the rest of the year, when fewer people are in the water.
Recreational water quality officials sample 215 sites throughout the coastal region, most of them on a weekly basis, from April to October.
