5 Beaches In St. Thomas-St. John District Not Safe This Weekend, D.P.N.R. Warns

The Department of Planning and Natural Resources on Friday advised residents that five beaches were unsafe for swimming or fishing this weekend, because they exceeded the established enterococci bacteria threshold considered safe.

The unsafe beaches are Coki Point, Secret Harbor and Frenchman’s Bay in St. Thomas, and Frank Bay and Johnson Bay in St. John. The department tested 37 beaches between July 10-14. No beaches on St. Croix were found to be unsafe.

This week’s safe beaches are:

St. Croix: Cramer Park, Pelican Cove, (Comorant) Rainbow, Chenay Bay, Cane Bay, Stoney Ground, Frederiksted Public Beach, Dorsch, Princess, Condo Row, Shoy’s, Halfpenny, Spratt Hall, Protestant Cay, Grapetree Bay, Columbus Landing, New Fort (Ft. Louise Augusta) and Buccaneer.

St. Thomas: Bolongo Bay, Lindquist, Magen’s Bay, Vessup Bay, Water Bay, Bluebeards, Sapphire, Lindbergh Bay, Hull Bay, Morningstar, Limetree and Brewer’s Bay.

St. John: Cruz Bay, Oppenhiemer and Great Cruz Bay.

High levels of enterococci bacteria and turbidity may be caused by runoff due to heavy rains, heavy marine vessel traffic, high wave activity near the shoreline, irresponsible recreational use, etc. Runoff can consist of sediment, pesticides, animal feces and oil & grease, all of which are harmful to the waters of the territory, says DPNR.

The department, led by Commissioner Dawn L. Henry, says it will continue to monitor these popular swimming areas. DPNR also recommends that residents use their discretion when swimming or fishing at the designated beaches. If the waters appear muddy or murky or have foul odors, do not swim or fish.

For additional information regarding water quality, call the Division of Environmental Protection at 773-1082 in St. Croix.

Correction: July 15, 2017

A previous version of this of this story, because of a text error, stated that six beaches were unsafe this weekend, when only 5 were deemed not safe for swimming and fishing by D.P.N.R. We’ve updated the story to include the correct information.