STORY UPDATED: HERE

Bathing in the water at the beach has been banned today due to faecal coliform levels registered in the water “far above the maximum allowed by law”, according to Nuno Cortes Lopes from the Port of Faro.

He told Lusa news agency; “The result of microbiological analyses of seawater on Monday revealed values far above the maximum value allowed by law, so, in coordination with the health authority, bathing on the beach of Faro was advised against," said Nuno Cortes Lopes, Commander of the Port of Faro.

According to the head of the National Maritime Authority, the Blue Flag, a symbol of bathing water quality, was lowered and the red flag “banning bathing” was raised.

Nuno Cortes Lopes said that the ban on bathing “is restricted to Faro beach”, and that the situation is being permanently monitored by ARH / Algarve (Administration of the Hydrographic Region), a body integrated in the Portuguese Environment Agency by the Algarve Regional Health Administration.

"There is a permanent monitoring of water quality, with new samples being taken today, the results of which will only be known tomorrow [Wednesday] and will determine whether or not the ban will be maintained," he stressed.

Nuno Cortes Lopes added that the maximum values ??allowed by law refer to the bacterium Escherichia Coli, commonly known as E.Coli, which indicates contamination by high concentration of faecal coliforms.

“The causes of this high concentration of faecal coliforms are unknown, and there are several possibilities, one of which is an untreated discharge from a vessel,” concluded the head of the Maritime Authority.