The Mississippi Department of Environmental Quality issued a beach closure today for a section of beach in Bay St. Louis from Carroll Avenue to Julia Street.

The closure is being preemptively issued due to a sewage spill caused by lightning striking a lift station on Ruella Avenue. The city is installing a bypass pump to stop the discharge.

MDEQ advises residents not to enter the water or consume any seafood collected from these nearshore waters until further notice. MDEQ will monitor the water and lift the closure when bacteria levels indicate conditions are safe for water contact.

More information on the Mississippi Beach Monitoring Program: www.usm.edu/gcrl/msbeach/index.cgi.

To receive beach advisories directly, send an email to [email protected] for inclusion in a public group email list, text “MDEQbeach” to 95577, or follow MDEQ on Twitter: @MDEQ.

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