Issued: High bacteria count notification at Kēōkea Beach Park in North Hawai‘i

State health officials issued a high bacteria count notification for a North Hawai‘i beach park after higher than normal levels of bacteria were recently discovered.

Hawai‘i Department of Health is retesting waters at Kēōkea Beach Park in North Kohala after bacteria levels of 478 per 100 mL were detected during routine beach monitoring.

Officials are uncertain about the representativeness of the first sample as this beach has historically met the acceptable threshold level and there is no known source of fecal contamination.

The state Health Department will update the notification based on the retesting results.

Find more information about the high bacteria count notification on the department’s Clean Water Branch website.

Visit the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency website to learn more about how high bacteria levels can affect human health.