FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
March 19, 2012
Contact: Robbie Wilbur
601/961-5277
MDEQ CLOSES BEACH SECTION IN BILOXI
(JACKSON, Miss.) -- The Mississippi Department of Environmental Quality (MDEQ), through its Beach Monitoring Program, has closed a section of beach in Biloxi. This preemptive closure includes Station 11A (which extends from Eisenhower Drive westward to Debuys Road) and also continues west to Mockingbird Lane. MDEQ advises people to not swim or engage in any other water activities in that area. A malfunction of the Edgewater pump station Saturday evening caused an overflow at Beach Drive near Gateway Drive in Biloxi.
The City of Biloxi responded immediately to the report of the overflow and made repairs to the station which stopped the bypass. The city attempted to disinfect the spilled sewage, and MDEQ is investigating the incident. However, it is not known at this time how much sewage may have reached the beach. MDEQ issued this preemptive closure as a precautionary measure until samples can be analyzed to determine the safety of the water.
When water samples show that levels are safe for human contact, the closure will be lifted. The Gulf Coast Research Laboratory, which performs water sampling of the Mississippi Gulf Coast beaches for MDEQ, notifies the agency when an area has returned to acceptable levels.
More information on the Mississippi Beach Monitoring Program:
http://www.usm.edu/gcrl/msbeach/index.cgi.
To receive beach advisories directly, send an email to rwilbur@deq.state.ms.us for inclusion in a public group email list or follow MDEQ on Twitter at http://twitter.com/#!/MDEQ.
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