EPA tries new, speedier tests of beach water at Cape May Court House

This summer, the federal Environmental Protection Agency will experiment with a new, faster method of testing water quality at some bathing beaches in the state.

An EPA official said Monday that test results for the bacteria enterococcus take 24 hours, but the time could be cut to three hours with a different test officials will try in a few spots in Monmouth and Ocean counties this summer.

A quicker testing system could allow health officials to close beaches faster in case bacteria exceed acceptable levels.

The water recently has been beautiful in South Jersey so far this summer very clear and clean everyday. It would be nice to keep it this way so please keep the beaches clean and don't leave any trash on the beach. Even though the water here might not be as blue and crystal clear as the water in Hawaii and Tahiti it does contain a lot less harmful bacteria compared to the more exotic tropical places.