By JOHN McCARTHY / V.I. Free Press News Reporter
ST. CROIX — The Department of Planning and Natural Resources (DPNR) has retroactively provided its “missing” territory-wide beach advisory for the week of June 15 to June 19, 2026, revealing that water quality testing remains completely paralyzed on St. Croix.
The late disclosure comes after a multi-week investigation by the Virgin Islands Free Press and the St. Croix Sun News regarding a total lack of public environmental safety data for local shorelines.
In an email correspondence to our publications, Jamal Nielsen, Special Assistant to the Commissioner and Media Relations Coordinator, attributed the breakdown to systemic internal resource issues, stating:
“Due to current staffing constraints within the program, water quality sampling and testing at St. Croix beaches were temporarily delayed.”
The Late June 19 Data: St. Thomas and St. John Cleared
According to the delayed official release, DPNR performed weekly water quality analyses at 18 designated beaches across St. Thomas, St. John, and Water Island to test for Enterococci bacteria and turbidity (water clarity).
- Safe Beaches (St. Thomas): Lindbergh Bay, Secret Harbor, Bolongo Bay, Lindqvist Beach, Brewers Bay, Magens Bay, Coki Point, Hull Bay, Sapphire Beach, Frenchman’s Bay, and Bluebeards Beach.
- Safe Beaches (St. John & Water Island): Cruz Bay, Oppenheimer Beach, Frank Bay, Johnson Bay, Great Cruz Bay, and Honeymoon Beach.
- UNSAFE BEACH: Vessup Bay on St. Thomas failed to meet water quality standards due to excessive Enterococci bacteria thresholds and is deemed unsafe for swimming or fishing.
- No Samples Collected: Water Bay on St. Thomas was not sampled.
The St. Croix Blindspot
While St. Thomas and St. John received thorough assessments, DPNR confirmed that zero samples were collected from any beach on St. Croix. Consequently, the water quality for all St. Croix beaches remains officially “unknown”.
Despite the agency framing the issue as a temporary delay, tracking by the VIFP indicates that St. Croix has now been left without environmental bacteria testing for nearly two months. Residents and tourists have been entering the water with zero data regarding potential contamination from sewage, stormwater runoff, or decomposing sargassum seaweed.
DPNR continues to warn the public that swimming in unmonitored waters impacted by runoff or heavy sargassum poses an elevated health risk for infections and illness.
For further inquiries regarding local water safety, the Division of Environmental Protection can be reached at (340) 773-1082 on St. Croix or (340) 774-3320 on St. Thomas.
