State urges swimmers to avoid the water at 2 Mississippi Coast beaches
The bacteria keep showing up.
Routine water quality tests have found the nuisance again at two Mississippi Coast beaches: Bay St. Louis beach and Gulfport Harbor beach. On Saturday, the Mississippi Department of Environmental Quality issued water contact advisories at the beaches and urged visitors to avoid swimming.
The bacteria, called Enterococcus, appear on shorelines across the country and are not worrisome enough to close beaches. But scientists say it means there could be stormwater runoff in the water that risks causing digestive problems or infections.
The advisories are common in summer and after rain on the Mississippi Coast. Researchers say faulty septic tanks or sewers can leak through the stormwater system and drain in the Mississippi Sound, where wind often stirs up waves that unearth bacteria buried in sand.
The Mississippi Department of Environmental Quality also has a standing advisory against swimming after heavy rain because runoff from drains south of the railroad tracks inevitably washes pollutants into the water.
Here is the full list of advisories in 2025:
June 6: The MDEQ issued an advisory for Biloxi West Central Beach. The advisory lifted June 14.
May 15: The state issued advisories for Pass Christian Central Beach and Long Beach Beach. The advisories lifted May 21.
May 6: The state issued advisories for Pass Christian West Beach and Edgewater Beach. The advisories lifted May 14.
April 18: The state issued an advisory for Gulfport East Beach. That advisory lifted April 23.
April 17: The state issued an advisory for Pass Christian West Beach, Gulfport Harbor Beach and Gulfport Central Beach. The advisory for Gulfport Central Beach lifted April 23. The Pass Christian West Beach advisory lifted April 24. The advisory for Gulfport Harbor Beach lifted May 21.
March 20: The state issued advisories for Pass Christian East Beach and Gulfport West Beach. The state lifted the advisory for Pass Christian East Beach on May 7. The advisory at Gulfport West Beach lifted May 14.
March 13: The state issued an advisory for Bay St. Louis Beach and Pass Christian Central Beach. A day later, it issued an advisory for Biloxi East Central Beach. Mississippi lifted the advisories at Bay St. Louis Beach and Biloxi East Central Beach on March 19. The advisory for Pass Christian Central Beach lifted April 23.
Feb. 13: Mississippi issued an advisory in Long Beach, Pass Christian Central Beach and Bay St. Louis Beach. The advisories in Pass Christian and Bay St. Louis lifted Feb. 26. The advisory in Long Beach lifted May 7.
Feb. 6: The Mississippi Department of Environmental Quality issued a water contact advisory at Gulfport West Beach. The advisory lifted Feb. 12. The agency also issued an advisory at Waveland Beach, which lifted Feb. 26.
Jan. 17: The Mississippi Department of Environmental Quality issued an advisory at Front Beach in Ocean Springs. The advisory ended Jan. 29.
This story was originally published June 16, 2025 at 11:00 AM.