BETTERTON — As of 5 p.m. today — Thursday, July 18 — the beach here has reopened for “normal activities” including swimming, water sports and fishing, according to a news release from the Kent County Health Department.
The health department closed the beach on Wednesday because of a sewage spill.
Water samples today were at “an acceptable level for bathing,” the KCHD reported in the news release that was issued electronically just before 4 p.m.
The health department will resume the regularly scheduled water quality tests to determine bacterial levels. When bacterial levels exceed acceptable levels, swimming in open water such as beaches is not recommended.
For more information about water quality, contact the Environmental Health Division of the Kent County Health Department at 410-778-1361.
On Wednesday at about 10 a.m., the KCHD was notified by Betterton officials that there had been a spill of about 2,000 gallons of sewage.
The beach was closed, efforts were made to contain/clean up the spill and staff from the KCHD’s Environmental Health Division transported water samples to a lab in Salisbury for testing.
According to a post Wednesday on the KCHD website, the closure was to remain in effect until “the acceptable standard is met for the designated bathing beach.”