High bacteria count advisory issued for Waiʻoli Beach Park on North Shore

Hawaiʻi Department of Health is notifying the public that bacteria levels — specifically those of enterococci bacteria — exceed the acceptable water quality threshold at Waiʻoli Beach Park, also known as Pine Trees, at Hanalei Bay on the North Shore of Kaua‘i.

A high bacteria count advisory was issued because testing for enterococci indicates that potentially harmful microorganisms such as bacteria, viruses, protozoa or parasites could be present in the water.

Levels of 2,005 per 100 mL were detected during routine beach monitoring.

The state Health Department Clean Water Branch provides beach monitoring and notification through its beach program.

Swimming at beaches with pollution in the water can make people ill.

Children, the elderly and people with weakened immune systems are the most likely to develop illnesses or infections after coming into contact with polluted water, usually while swimming.

Fortunately, while swimming-related illnesses can be unpleasant, they are usually not very serious — they require little or no treatment or get better quickly upon treatment — and they have no long-term health effects.

The most common illness associated with swimming in water polluted by fecal pathogens is gastroenteritis. It occurs in a variety of forms that can have one or more of the following symptoms:

• Nausea.
• Vomiting.
• Stomachache.
• Diarrhea.
• Headache or fever.

Other minor illnesses associated with swimming include ear, eye, nose and throat infections. In highly polluted water, swimmers may occasionally be exposed to more serious diseases.

Not all illnesses from a day at the beach are from swimming.

Food poisoning from improperly refrigerated picnic lunches also can have some of the same symptoms as swimming-related illnesses, including stomachache, nausea, vomiting and diarrhea.

At any given time and place, people are constantly exposed to a variety of microorganisms that have the potential of making us sick.

The high bacteria count advisory has been posted at Waiʻoli Beach Park and will remain in effect until water sample results no longer exceed the acceptable threshold of 130 enterococci per 100 mL.

For more information, visit the state Clean Water Branch website and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency website.

The state initially issued a high bacteria count notification Wednesday (June 25) for the beach park after bacteria levels returned higher than usual during routine testing. A second sample was taken and retested.

State health officials issued the high bacteria count advisory following those results.

A brown water advisory also remains in effect for the Waiʻoli Beach area at the west end of Hanalei Bay.