Beach report: Spring Lake beach closed by bacteria Scroll down for a list of affected beaches

Russ Zimmer | Asbury Park Press

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A Spring Lake beach next to Wreck Pond was closed Thursday, following consecutive days of excessive bacteria in the water.

Two other beaches, both on the Bayshore and not open to swimmers, also registered unsafe levels in followup testing for a microbe that indicates the water is not safe for recreation.

No Ocean County beaches tested high for bacteria this week.

The beach adjacent to Brown Avenue in Spring Lake was closed Thursday and a third round of samples was collected. The results for those will be released Friday.

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If Thursday's samples prove to still be too high, then the beach would be closed on Friday and retested.

Wreck Pond has long been a source of water pollution. A state-of-the-art tunnel, which was finished in November, was designed to limit flooding in the area and improve water quality.

The weekly tests are part of a monitoring program that is on the lookout for enterococcus, a bacteria that grows inside the intestines of humans and other warm-blooded animals and can be found alongside their feces. This kind of bacteria is considered a warning sign of dangerous pathogens.

LAST WEEK: 5 Monmouth beaches test high for bacteria

Swallowing any contaminated water could result in cramps and diarrhea from gastrointestinal illnesses, according to the National Institutes of Health.

The standard for safe swimming is less than 104 colony forming units, or cfu, per 100 milliliters of water.

Per NJbeaches.org, here are the beaches that tested above the safe swimming threshold on Wednesday, with today's results in bold:

Middletown , Ideal Beach, 440 cfu, 180 cfu

, Ideal Beach, 440 cfu, Highlands, Miller Beach, 260 cfu, 310 cfu

Miller Beach, 260 cfu, Sea Bright , public beach, 260 cfu, less than 10 cfu

, public beach, 260 cfu, Ocean Grove , Spray Avenue, 160 cfu, 20 cfu

, Spray Avenue, 160 cfu, Ocean Grove , Broadway Avenue, 220 cfu, less than 10 cfu

, Broadway Avenue, 220 cfu, Spring Lake , Brown Avenue, 330 cfu, 150 cfu

, Brown Avenue, 330 cfu, Spring Lake, York Avenue, 110 cfu, less than 10 cfu

Every Tuesday online, the Press and app.com will post water-quality test results from every Jersey Shore beach that exceeds federal safe swimming standards for fecal bacteria.

Which beaches are most frequently plagued by bacteria? Watch this video to find out:

Bottom 5: Beaches with the worst water quality in NJ An Asbury Park Press analysis reveals the five Shore beaches that have had tested too high for bacteria the most times since 2005.

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Russ Zimmer: 732-557-5748, razimmer@app.com