The Department of Planning and Natural Resources (DPNR) announces that the Beach Water Quality Monitoring Program, which evaluates weekly water quality at popular swimming beaches throughout the territory by sampling for enterococci bacteria and turbidity, which is a measure of water clarity, advises the public of the following:
DPNR performed water quality analysis at 29 designated beaches throughout the territory during the week of Nov. 6 – 9, 2017. The following beaches meet water quality standards and are safe for swimming or fishing:
St. Croix
Cramer’s Park
Pelican Cove (Comorant)
Cane Bay
Frederiksted Public Beach
Dorsch
Princess Condo Row
Buccaneer
Spratt Hall
New Fort (Ft. Louise Augusta)
Gentle Winds
St. Thomas
Lindqvist
Magens Bay
Vessup Bay
Bluebeard’s
Limetree
Hull Bay
Sapphire
Lindbergh Bay
Bolongo Bay
St. John
Cruz Bay
Oppenheimer
Great Cruz Bay
Frank Bay
Johnson Bay
The following beaches do not meet water quality standards because they exceed the established enterococci bacteria threshold and, therefore, are not considered to be safe for swimming or fishing:
St. Croix
Shoy’s
St. Thomas
Secret Harbor
Water Bay
Coki Point
Brewers Bay
The following beaches could not be sampled because access to them or the use of their waters pose a risk to health and safety, and, therefore, the water quality at these beaches is unknown:
St. Croix
Rainbow
Stoney Ground
Chenay Bay
Grapetree Bay
Ha’ penny
Protestant Cay
St. Thomas
Frenchman’s Bay
Morningstar
All persons should also be aware that storm water runoff due to hurricanes and tropical storms may also contain contaminants or pollutants harmful to human health due to storm debris; therefore, all persons should avoid areas of storm water runoff (i.e. guts, puddles, and drainage basins). DPNR will continue to monitor the impacted areas and waters.
For additional information regarding water quality, call the Division of Environmental Protection at 773-1082 on St. Croix or 774-3320 on St. Thomas.