Media Release

FOR: Immediate Release
DATE:June 17, 1998
CONTACT: Ernest Julian, Ph.D, (401) 222-2749 x 2429

Swimming Advisory for Upper Narragansett Bay

The Rhode Island Department of Health is advising individuals not to swim in Narragansett Bay north of Quonset Point and the southern tip of Prudence Island due to sewage contamination resulting from the heavy rains. The Barrington, Warren, Bristol, Conimicut Point, Goddard Park, Oakland, and City Park (Buttonwoods) Beaches will not be open for swimming. The area north of a line from Long Tree Point in North Kingstown to the southern tip of South Prudence Island to Carr Point in Portsmouth has also been conditionally closed to shellfishing by the Department of Environmental Management (DEM).

This advisory is being issued because heavy rains have caused over 150 million of gallons of sewage contaminated water to be discharged into the Upper Bay. Individuals bathing in these areas can put themselves at risk of becoming ill. Some of the illnesses that can be spread through sewage contaminated waters include Hepatitis A, shigellosis, Norwalk Virus, and ear infections.