Samples were not collected at the following beaches, and, therefore, they are not considered to be safe for swimming or fishing:
- Columbus Landing and Grapetree Bay on St. Croix due to the high concentration of sargassum seaweed impacting the nearshore.
- Protestant Cay off St. Croix due to the ferry not running.
The water quality at these beaches is unknown.
The Department of Planning and Natural Resources 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 32 designated beaches throughout the territory during the week of Sept. 7 – 11. All of the following beaches meet water quality standards for swimming or fishing:
St. Croix
Stony Ground
Pelican Cove (Comorant)
Sprat Hall
Dorsch Beach
Cramer’s Park
Chenay Bay
Frederiksted Public Beach
Buccaneer
Shoy’s
Rainbow Beach
Cane Bay
Ha ‘penny Beach
New Fort (Ft. Louise Augusta)
Princess (Condo Row)
St. Thomas
Lindbergh Bay
Sapphire Beach
Lindqvist Beach
Brewers Bay
Vessup Bay
Water Bay
Hull Bay
Bluebeard’s Beach
Frenchman’s Bay
Magens Bay
Secret Harbor
Coki Point
Bolongo Bay
St. John
Cruz Bay
Oppenheimer
Johnson Bay
Frank Bay
Great Cruz Bay
All persons should be aware that stormwater runoff may also contain contaminants or pollutants harmful to human health; therefore, all persons should avoid areas of stormwater runoff (i.e. guts, puddles and drainage basins) or any area that appears discolored or has foul odors. DPNR will continue to monitor the impacted areas and waters.
For additional information regarding water quality, call the Division of Environmental Protection at 340-773-1082 on St. Croix or 340-514-1961 on St. Thomas.
