UPDATE: Drinking Water now ok
Ventnor City says water is safe to drink, but a sewage leak in the back bay leads to restrictions on fun, fishing.
UPDATE: Drinking Water now ok
UPDATE: Sunday morning: Officials say the drinking water in Ventnor now is ok (thanks, just bought four jugs of spring water), and boiling etc. no longer necessary. The leaking sewage pipe in the bay area continues, and recreation and fishing restrictions still apply. Apparently, people have been ocmplaining about the sewage pump at Fulton and Harvard for quite awhile, with no or little response from city officials. Like I said, thanks guys.
Well, the world seems to be ending, and it's beginning in Ventnor, New Jersey. Visitors and locals were greeted with emails and recorded phone messages Friday night informing them that 1. a sewage pipe had ruptured around Harvard and Fulton Aves in the back bay section, and near ski beach, and that all jet skiing, swimming, etc. was prhobited until further notice. THe state DEP said all shellfish etc. from Lakes Bay north of Margate was now considered not safe for consumption. This broken sewage pipe has been a problem that has been around for awhile. An earlier fix did not do the trick, and well, I guess the subsequent fix that was supposed to do the trick hadn't yet been executed. Nice. Everyone head to the ocean.
Then, a few minutes later, another fun notification. The city had found e-0coli contamination in the dirnking water and was adivsing residents to boil their water or use bottled. They discovered this problem on Wednesday, told everybody on Friday. Thanks guys! Doesn't seem to have affected my dog, and we're all on a bottled water jag anyway, but still. Would have been better to eat those backyard tomatoes straight off the vine, I guess. N o word on when things will be back to normal . Everyone have a fun weekend! Don't forget the Hobie Cat Regatta on Oxford, it's gonna e awesome. Start time at noon. UPDATE: Hobie Regataa postponed until next Saturday because of light to no wind forecast.
Here's more details from our friends at the Press of Atlantic Ciy.
Gee, we would have to raise taxes to fix the sewage leak. Heaven forbid! Cheaper to tell everyone to take a lot of showers and boil the water.— macman2- The Jersey shore is a complete dump. But, please, for those who find attraction to the place...keep going there and stay far away from our pristine and quite southern beaches. Thank you.— kelprod2
- I'm shocked that they actually informed the public. Several years ago, there was a case of cholera in the bay (intracoastal waterway) and the info was withheld for all intents and purposes, until Labor day weekend was past. There are too many flippin' people down there to handle waste properly. Go at your own risk. Or, conversely, you could go to Philly and get the krappe beat outta you. Pik yer pizzen.— xkarivalis
- Anyone swimming in the Atlantic north of N Carolina is an idiot. Nothing but one big toilet. One big nasty toilet.— CiceroSpuriousDeodatus
- When I was a young lad, back in the late 40's + early 50's, I used to go fishing in the bay water on the dock, next to a home. While fishing, from 1 home, I remembered seeing waste sewer water coming down into the bay water, from a pipe, and I assume that during that time, there was no law banning that.
Today ? ? ? ?— rwrice - i've been to beaches in south florida and california, and one thing I notice in both areas is that the sea water doesn't stink— franknbeans
Comment removed.- Hey kelprod..what is a "quite Southern beach'??— beermoney
- California water aint that hot. Especially San Diego. I remember waste from Mexico being an issue while and in Florida the only place not a dump is the ocean.— philsoutthecomment
Inquirer Staff Writer Jacqueline L. Urgo has spent every summer of her life at the Jersey Shore, and has lived there year-round for nearly 30 years, even fulfilling one of her bucket list dreams by once living in a house by the sea.
Since 1990, she has covered the waterfront for The Inquirer — from the Atlantic to the Delaware Bay shore — and some of the mainland in between. Along the way, she amassed an encyclopedic knowledge of this tear-it-down-and-build-it-back-up region, delving into the history and the hype of a place with a lot of unexpected stories to tell. Email her here: jurgo@phillynews.com.
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