The waters off Sandy Point State Park?s east beach still aren?t safe to swim in, and Anne Arundel County Health Department officials continue to look for an explanation.
A health advisory was issued Saturday for the south and east beaches at the popular park on the Chesapeake Bay after routine water sampling showed elevated levels of enterococci bacteria, a bacteria found in the intestines of all warm-blooded animals that is harmful elsewhere. The swimming ban on the south beach was lifted Sunday afternoon.
Health department spokeswoman Elin Jones said the county would not lift the ban at the east beach until two consecutive days of water samples showed normal bacteria levels. Waters have been tested daily this week with no change in the result.
Jones said the department did not “have anything definite” as a cause of the contamination, and said the county had not received any reports of sewage spills in the area.
Besides a sewage leak, animal waste and runoff from heavy rain have been offered as possible causes for the high bacteria levels.
