The Mississippi Department of Environmental Quality is advising residents not to swim at the Gulfport Harbor because construction in the area could cause high bacteria levels to occur.

MDEQ, through its Beach Monitoring Program, is advising residents not to have any water contact in the harbor until water samples show a consistent safe level for human contact.

After water samples show that levels are safe for human contact, the beach advisory will be lifted.

Swimmers are also being reminded that the Beach Task Force has a standing recommendation that swimming not occur during or within 24 hours of a significant rainfall event.

The Gulf Coast Research Laboratory performs water sampling of the Mississippi Gulf Coast beaches for MDEQ. The lab will notify the agency when the area has returned to acceptable levels.