The Mississippi Department of Environmental Quality issued two water contact advisories this week after tests found high levels of bacteria on South Mississippi beaches.
The bacteria, common along the Mississippi coast, returned this week to Biloxi’s East Central Beach, which stretches from St. Peter Street to Ducat Street. The state also issued a water contact advisory for Long Beach beaches between Oak Garden and Girard Avenue.
Beaches remain open. But the Department of Environmental Quality issued advisories as a precautionary measure, warning beachgoers that swimming may increase their risk of illness. These warnings are often triggered by a faulty septic tank or sewer leaking through the stormwater system into the Mississippi Sound.
The Department of Environmental Quality tests each beach weekly for bacteria called enterococci that can indicate the potential for sewage to contaminate the water.
A sign on East Beach warns of water contact Wednesday, April 30, 2025, in Ocean Springs. The Mississippi Department of Environmental Quality tests water at beaches multiple times a week and issues recommendations for high bacteria levels.
(Hannah Ruhoff/Sun-Herald)
The agency’s testing did not track a separate and rare strain of bacteria called Vibrio that naturally lives in coastal waters and can cause serious infections. Enterococci are usually harmless to humans, but scientists use it to indicate possible contamination.
Scientists with the Department of Environmental Quality will test beaches daily as recommended until enterococci bacteria levels return to normal. The agency also has long-standing recommendations against swimming after heavy rains because runoff from drainage ditches south of the tracks inevitably washes pollutants into the waves.
Tests this week showed normal bacteria levels at all other beaches along the Mississippi coast.
