SEQUIM — Cline Spit beach was reopened today for recreational use.
The Clallam County Department of Health & Human Services closed the beach Aug. 14 because of high concentrations of enterococcus bacteria, which is found in the feces of warm-blooded creatures, including humans.
The beach, which incorporates about 240 feet of tidelands a half-mile west of Dungeness Landing County Park, was reopened for swimming and wading after samples of the water collected Wednesday showed the level of enterococcus bacteria is now below the health threshold set by the state Department of Health, the county said.
The closure did not affect fishing or crabbing, although people were advised to avoid contact with the water.
Contact with fecal-contaminated water — especially through a lesion in the skin — can cause skin rashes, gastroenteritis and upper respiratory infections.
Swallowing water with high levels of enterococcus can cause diarrhea or vomiting.
Children and elderly people may be more susceptible to water-borne illnesses, health officials said.
The Cline Spit closure came a week after Hollywood Beach in downtown Port Angeles was reopened following its latest short closure for similar pollution.
Hollywood Beach in Port Angeles was closed Aug. 6, just more than a month after it had been shut down for fecal bacteria-contaminated water over the Fourth of July weekend. Touch tanks at the Feiro Marine Life Center on City Pier also were closed.
In both Hollywood Beach closures, the origin of the bacteria was unknown.
Clallam County Health and Human Services could locate no source for the pollution at Cline Spit either.
The park receives drainage from nearby farms and homes served by septic systems.
For updates, call Clallam County Health and Human Services at 360-417-2415.
