GALVESTON, Texas – If you’re planning on heading down to the Gulf Coast for Memorial Day weekend, you’ll want to check this list.
Texas Beach Watch reported that levels of Enterococcus, a bacteria that can cause illness after entering the body through ingestion or an open wound, was low for the majority of beaches up and down the coast.
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Texas Beach Watch collects samples from 164 stations at approximately 61 recreational beaches along the Texas coast in Aransas, Brazoria, Cameron, Galveston, Harris, and Jefferson, Matagorda, Nueces and San Patricio counties. During the peak beach season, which runs from May through September, water samples are collected weekly. During the rest of the year, samples are collected every two weeks.
If a water sample contains more than 104 colony-forming units of the Enterococcus bacteria per 100 milliliters of water, swimming is not recommended, and an advisory will be issued until levels subside, which usually occurs within 48 hours, officials said.
The map at TexasBeachWatch.com shows the presence and levels of fecal bacteria along the coast: Green means low bacteria levels, yellow means medium bacteria levels, and red signifies high bacteria levels.
Texas beaches with high-level fecal bacteria count:
- Retilon Road, Corpus Christi
Texas beaches with medium-level fecal bacteria count:
- Stewart Beach, Galveston
- 81st Street, Galveston
- Bucaneer Boulevard, Galveston
- Galveston Island, Galveston
- 16 Mile Road, Galveston
- West Beach, Galveston
- Surfside Beach - 2nd Drive
- Quintana Beach County Park
- Palacios Pavilion West, Palacios, Texas
- Jetty Park #2, Palacios, Texas
- Rockport Saltwater Pool
- Port Aransas
- Nueces Bay Causeway #3, Corpus Christi
- Ropes Park #2, Corpus Christi
- Bob Hall Pier/Seawall #2, Corpus Christi
- Boca Chica State Park #4
To view advisories and bacteria levels, click the link here.