Cove Road Beach Closed for High Bacteria Levels

Bivalve, MD –  Cove Beach in Bivalve Maryland is closed until further notice due to high bacteria levels in the water.

According to the Wicomico County Health department higher bacteria levels often occur after prolonged periods of rain. People with weakened immune systems like children and the elderly are at risk for serious illness if exposed.

The Wicomico County Health Department gave these tips to reduce your risk of getting sick:

• Pay attention to contamination and advisory warnings and stay out of polluted water.
• Avoid swimming at beaches after heavy rainfall.
• Stay out of murky or foul-smelling water.
• Avoid beach water if you have an open wound or infection.
• Swim without putting your head under water.

47ABC sat down with Tim Burke from the Department of Environmental Health to learn more about the closing and how testing is going.

Burke Said “with the amount of rain that we had last week specifically and the weekend before, it was just a large amount of rain so I’m not surprised that the bacteria was so high so time and tide.”

Burke Said the only way for bacteria levels to go back down is with enough time and help from the tides to wash it out. But for now Cove Road Beach is closed until further notice as more tests are conducted.