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Swimming advisory lifted for Hilton Beach in Newport News

Posted at 3:46 PM, Jun 14, 2017
and last updated 2017-06-15 15:46:31-04

NEWPORT NEWS, Va. – The Peninsula Health District has lifted a swimming advisory for Hilton Beach.

The bacteria results exceed safe levels, the Virginia Department of Health Beach Monitoring said Wednesday.

On Thursday levels were back down, meeting state water quality standards.

A swimming advisory was also issued on June 7 and was lifted a few days later.

Recreational waters are checked during the summer months for high levels of bacteria.

Indicator organisms like enterococci are monitored and when they are too high a sign is posted at the beach.

Enterococci are a group of organisms used to determine the amount of fecal contamination of recreation water. They do not cause illness but research shows when enterococci are present, other disease-causing organisms may be as well.