(BIVN) – For the second day in a row, a suspect High Bacteria Count Notification was issued for a Keaukaha-area beach along Hilo Bay.

The Hawaiʻi Department of Health Clean Water Branch notice that was issued for Onekahakaha Beach on Wednesday was cancelled on Thursday. Then, a new High Bacteria Count Notification was issued for the nearby Puhi Bay.

Today’s message from health officials concerning Puhi Bay was almost identical to the one issued for Onekahakaha the day before. It reads:

The Hawai‘i State Department of Health (DOH) is retesting Puhi Bay #3, Hawai‘i. Levels of 2005 per 100 mL were detected during routine beach monitoring. DOH is uncertain about the representativeness of the first sample. This beach has historically met the acceptable beach threshold level, and there is no known source of fecal contamination. Therefore, DOH has collected another sample and is retesting the site. DOH will update the notification based on the results of this retesting.

This notice will be updated as soon as more information is learned.