Six beaches closed to swimming in Palm Beach County after poor water quality tests

Half of Palm Beach County's beaches that were tested for bacteria this week were closed to swimmers after high levels of fecal contamination were found. 

It's the first time this year that health advisories were issued for three of the beaches, including Palm Beach municipal beach, Riviera Beach and Carlin Park in Jupiter. 

Advisories were also issued Tuesday for Phil Foster park, Boynton Beach and Lake Worth Beach. Lantana Beach was not tested because it was closed. 

More:Palm Beach border crisis: West Palm residents (migrant hordes) using public beach | Frank Cerabino

More:'It's a harsh environment': Pahokee Marina toxic algae defies nanobubble technology... so far

Alex Shaw, director of communications for the Florida Department of Health in Palm Beach County, said runoff from heavy rainfall last week combined with the flooding high tides likely contributed to the high number of advisories issued. 

Areas of coastal Palm Beach County got as much as 5 inches of rain on Thursday and Friday with the official gauge at Palm Beach International Airport measuring 2.85 inches. 

More:Big waves lure surfers to Palm Beach on Sunday and push flooding high tides higher

The Health Department tests for enterococci bacteria, which indicates the presence of fecal material in the water. There are three levels of ranking; "good," which is up to 35 colonies of bacteria per 100 milliliters of water, "moderate," which is 36 to 70 colonies, and "poor," which is 71 or greater.

Riviera Beach's municipal beach and Phil Foster tested the highest at 1,043 and 1,723, respectively. 

The beaches were tested Monday with results released Tuesday. New results will likely be released Thursday. 

Kmiller@pbpost.com

@Kmillerweather