Ocean Water Quality Program

Atlantic County Celebrates 25 years of Ocean Water Quality

The Atlantic County Ocean Water Quality Program is in its 25th season this summer, providing weekly reports on bacterial samples taken from ocean waters on beaches along Brigantine, Atlantic City, Ventnor, Margate and Longport.

A highlight of the program is the Ocean Water Quality Index, created by health officials from the county and city health departments as a means of giving the public accurate, easily understood information on the quality of our waters. Information is posted on the back of lifeguard stands and stations along the Atlantic County shoreline for easy access.

The Ocean Water Quality Index is divided into five grades, based on the average number of bacteria per 100 milliliters of water.

Twenty-four years of water testing and interaction with the public on this issue has shown two things:

• There is a great deal of public interest in accessing information about the quality of our ocean waters.
• The waters off Atlantic County are consistently in the excellent category.

In 2012, the ocean was tested each week for a period of 17 weeks. Results for the entire 2012 season county wide averaged in the "Excellent" category.

In addition to this Web site, Atlantic County maintains a toll free hotline number for the Ocean Water Quality Program at 1-800-633-SWIM. The public can call 24 hours a day for the latest information on water quality.

The Ocean Water Quality Program is an annual project of the Atlantic County Division of Public Health in cooperation with the Atlantic City Health Department. For additional information contact County Health Officer Patricia Diamond at (609) 645-5935.