You could hear the "ewww" through the snickers. Two young female joggers on the Bradley Beach boardwalk had stopped for a breather and were reading the sign posted at the entrance to the Lake Terrace beach. What snared their grisly glee was the notice not to enter the water if they were experiencing or recovering from diarrhea.
"That's just gross, to think people would go in the water if they're sick like that," said one.
"Yeah, because you never know if people like that--who are sick like that, will, you know, not make it out in time or just go in up to where they think people can't seen them doing it," said the other.
The women declined to give their names because they work "local summer jobs" and said they didn't want their boss to think they were being disrespectful.
But both admitted they had sometimes joked about going to the bathroom in the ocean: "Everybody jokes about it. Don't they? " "They joke about it, but maybe some of them do it for real, even if they don't have diarrhea? I wouldn't be surprised."
But at this part of the ocean, it's not all about going swimming if you've got the runs. The sign also says, "All children in diapers must wear plastic pants," warns against washing diapers in bathing water, and says children should be encouraged to use the restroom before entering the water.
There are warnings, too, against going in the water if you're under the influence of drugs or alcohol (alcoholic beverages are prohibited on the beach and boardwalk).
The sign doesn't mention a penalty for running afoul of social standards and fouling Mother Nature. Nor does it cite state or local laws.
Despite the assurance of chlorine-propelled purification, an unwritten code of conduct--not to mention a deep-seated "ewww"factor-- tends to prevent kids and grown-ups from relieving themselves in swimming pools. You would suppose that, since we don't usurp the pool for our personal potty, we wouldn't do the same in the wilds of the ocean, with all those germs rushing in where the more fastidious among us fear to tread water.
But it's not unusual for beaches to be closed when water samples reveal levels of bacteria that the board of health and the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection (NJDEP) deem unacceptable, which is what happened last week to four southern Monmouth County beaches, none of which was in Bradley Beach. In those cases, the water samples contained Enterococci bacteria, which are found in human waste and which purportedly entered the ocean by way of storm water runoff after heavy rains. As of this writing, all beaches in southern Monmouth County were open.
Swimming among Enterococci or other bacteria can make you sick. According to the NJDEP,'s website, bathing in or contact with polluted water can cause a variety of gastrointestinal, respiratory, and flu-like symptoms, including nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, sore throat, fever, and chills.
Meanwhile, The Gazette has no idea how many other local beaches have posted rules like those in Bradley Beach or why local officials posted them.
Stay tuned. We're working on it.
"That's just gross, to think people would go in the water if they're sick like that," said one.
"Yeah, because you never know if people like that--who are sick like that, will, you know, not make it out in time or just go in up to where they think people can't seen them doing it," said the other.
The women declined to give their names because they work "local summer jobs" and said they didn't want their boss to think they were being disrespectful.
But both admitted they had sometimes joked about going to the bathroom in the ocean: "Everybody jokes about it. Don't they? " "They joke about it, but maybe some of them do it for real, even if they don't have diarrhea? I wouldn't be surprised."
But at this part of the ocean, it's not all about going swimming if you've got the runs. The sign also says, "All children in diapers must wear plastic pants," warns against washing diapers in bathing water, and says children should be encouraged to use the restroom before entering the water.
There are warnings, too, against going in the water if you're under the influence of drugs or alcohol (alcoholic beverages are prohibited on the beach and boardwalk).
The sign doesn't mention a penalty for running afoul of social standards and fouling Mother Nature. Nor does it cite state or local laws.
Despite the assurance of chlorine-propelled purification, an unwritten code of conduct--not to mention a deep-seated "ewww"factor-- tends to prevent kids and grown-ups from relieving themselves in swimming pools. You would suppose that, since we don't usurp the pool for our personal potty, we wouldn't do the same in the wilds of the ocean, with all those germs rushing in where the more fastidious among us fear to tread water.
But it's not unusual for beaches to be closed when water samples reveal levels of bacteria that the board of health and the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection (NJDEP) deem unacceptable, which is what happened last week to four southern Monmouth County beaches, none of which was in Bradley Beach. In those cases, the water samples contained Enterococci bacteria, which are found in human waste and which purportedly entered the ocean by way of storm water runoff after heavy rains. As of this writing, all beaches in southern Monmouth County were open.
Swimming among Enterococci or other bacteria can make you sick. According to the NJDEP,'s website, bathing in or contact with polluted water can cause a variety of gastrointestinal, respiratory, and flu-like symptoms, including nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, sore throat, fever, and chills.
Meanwhile, The Gazette has no idea how many other local beaches have posted rules like those in Bradley Beach or why local officials posted them.
Stay tuned. We're working on it.
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