Health Dept.: Beaches Won't Be Closed

The Ocean County Health Department says it will not close bay or river beaches in the wake of Hurricane Irene, however it will perform water quality tests on a normal schedule and act accordingly.

"We're going to be doing water quality testing as we do during a normal week," said Leslie Terjesen, spokeswoman for the Ocean County Health Department. "We have samplers. We're being very careful to make sure all of our water is safely sampled."

After the dust settled following New Jersey's crush with Irene over the weekend, some feared that water quality could be affected by runoff carried into the bays and rivers by heavy rains. The concern has carried to ocean beaches, as well.

"From a prudent point of view, I think it might be wise for everyone to stay out of the ocean," said state DEP spokesman Larry Ragonese, explaining that the DEP, in cooperation with counties and municipalities along the shore are currently assessing any impacts on water quality due to the storm.

Ragonese says that turbidity in the water due to the storm makes testing difficult.

"We need the water to calm down a bit to get accurate sampling," he said.

The DEP has reported that routine water sampling in both Monmouth and Ocean counties will begin Tuesday.

For Ocean County's bay and river beaches, the decision on any closures must be made by each individual municipality, Terjesen said.

"We are making sure that we're getting to every one of our swimming beaches and making sure they are sampled," she said. "We know that it's beautiful out, and we want people to come back down and enjoy our beaches for Labor Day."

So far, in Ocean County, only – on the Metedeconk River in Brick – is closed. However that closure does not have to do with water quality, but the fact that the park which contains the beach was affected by downed trees and power lines and will be closed indefinitely.