WRIGHTSVILLE BEACH, N.C. (WECT) – Tropical Storm Debby has passed the Wilmington area, but impacts will linger into at least early next week.

The storm’s heavy rainfall – which totaled over a foot in some areas of the Cape Fear – has forced a precautionary swimming advisory for the entire stretch of North Carolina’s coast south of the Outer Banks.

That’s partly due to the increased swelling and rip current risk in the ocean, but also to potentially higher levels of harmful bacteria that can be present in coastal waters after storms.

Erin Bryan-Millush, the manager of North Carolina’s Recreational Water Quality Program, said officials would soon be testing ocean water for enterococci bacteria, an indicator species of bacteria associated with E. coli, salmonella and hepatitis, among other infections. She also noted similar storms in the past have led to large amounts of enterococci present, which usually comes from septic system failures, sewer line breaks and overflowing manholes.

“This is not a typical rain event. This is a lot more. So it’s going to take our area a lot more time to recover from this amount of rainfall,” Bryan-Millush said.

Bryan-Millush said she usually recommends people stay out of coastal waters for 24-48 hours after it rains at least an inch or two, and with Debby providing more, she advises beachgoers to stay out of the ocean until waters can be tested early next week.

Wrightsville Ocean Beach Rescue is also recommending people stay out of the water. Friday was a high rip current day, according to Ocean Rescue Captain Sam Proffitt, and an increased swell is still moving in. Water quality and displaced objects moving through the ocean also make it unsafe, he noted.

“We do have increased swell coming in from the storm,” Proffitt said. “We are flying red flags today, we have very high rip current activity, so again, not a very good day to come to the beach. If you do, definitely do not go into the ocean.”

Areas like Kure Beach that have storm drains into the ocean are more vulnerable after heavy rain. She recommends people avoid swimming for 24 hours if they see a pipe – even if it’s no longer pumping stormwater out to the beach.

Water officials will begin sampling for bacteria on Monday and the results will determine if the advisory is lifted on Tuesday. But if they find bacteria, signs will be posted on beaches next week noting the area is under advisory.

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