Swimming still banned at six beaches
KINGSTON, N.Y. » Six beaches in Ulster County, including Kingston Point Beach, will remain closed through at least Thursday while the Ulster County Department of Health waits for the results of a second round of water quality tests.
The six beaches — Kingston Point Beach, Ulster Landing Beach in the town of Ulster, Rifton Rec in the town of Esopus, the Rip Van Winkle Beach in Saugerties, the lake at the YMCA’s Camp Seewackamano in Shokan, and the Marbletown Beach in Marbletown — were closed last Friday due to high levels of bacteria found in the water.
Ulster County Health Commissioner Dr. Carol Smith said the Department of Health repeated the tests Tuesday and hopes to have the results back by the end of the week.
“I hope we have the results Thursday, so that it will be before the weekend,” Smith said.
“For now they’re closed,” she said of the beaches. “We will reopen them if we get a different level back.”
The health department issues permits for each of the affected beaches and is responsible for ensuring the water quality meets the state’s standards for swimming.
Water quality samples taken during the department’s July 17 round of testing revealed elevated levels of the enterococci bacteria.
The enterococci bacteria is found in human and animal feces and can cause a variety of illnesses and infections, including urinary tract infections and gastrointestinal illnesses.