water quality

The advisory affects waters at the public beach access at Lighthouse Park off Caswell Beach Road in Caswell Beach, where test results indicate a running monthly geometric mean average of 41 enterococci per 100 milliliters of water, based on five samples taken within a 30-day period. Full story...

Irene may be long gone, but the effects of the hurricane are still being felt in water quality fears all along the rivers of eastern North Carolina. Full story...

Bacteria levels are back to normal at the public beach access at South Shore Drive and Kinston Avenue in Surf City. Same good news for Lighthouse Park in Caswell Beach. Full story...

State officials today are notifying the public that testing at an ocean-side site in Pender County showed levels of bacteria exceeding the state and Environmental Protection Agency’s recreational water quality swimming standards. Full story...

The state Division of Marine Fisheries today lifted a water quality swimming advisory for a sound-side swimming area in Brunswick County. Full story...

The state Division of Marine Fisheries today lifted three water quality swimming advisories and one swimming alert in New Hanover County. Full story...

An advisory against swimming was posted today at a sound-side site in Brunswick County, where state officials found bacteria levels in the water that exceed the state and Environmental Protection Agency's recreational water quality standards. Full story...

Three recreational swimming advisories and one alert were issued today at ocean-side and sound-side locations in New Hanover County. State officials found bacteria levels in the water that exceed the state and Environmental Protection Agency’s recreational water quality standards. Full story...

The hot and dry weather that has dominated the area over the last several weeks is contributing to extensive algal blooms in the Cape Fear River and the Northeast Cape Fear River, according to officials with the NC Division of Water Quality. Full story...

The City of Boiling Spring Lakes has closed Spring Lake for testing. City Clerk Linda Merry says the city closed the lake yesterday after finding out Wednesday that a baby may have gotten sick after swimming in the lake recently. Full story...

The state Division of Environmental Health today lifted a water quality swimming alert at an ocean-side site in Brunswick County. The alert affected waters at the public beach access located at the east end of Holden Beach. Full story...

The alert affects waters at the public beach access located at the east end of Holden Beach. Samples collected yesterday show test results of 111 enterococci per 100 milliliters of water, which exceeds the state and federal single-sample standard of 104 enterococci per 100 milliliters for Tier 1 high usage sites. Swimming areas are classified based on recreational use and are referred to as tiers. Full story...

Cape Fear Community College wants to find out what's in your water. CFCC students are taking a closer look at the area's water sources as part of a study funded by a grant from the National Science Foundation. Full story...

The Charlotte Observer reports that while South Carolina ranks eighth in the nation in terms of beach water quality, but Horry County beach water is the dirtiest in the state. Full story...

Swimming advisories and alerts are recommendations that people have no full body contact with the water in a specific area for public health reasons. Full story...