Oak Island-Lighthouse Park, Caswell Beach (S15A)

Oak Island, North Carolina
Managed by The Swim Guide

Oak Island Lighthouse offers free tours to the balcony at the top of the lighthouse year round but visitors must provide at least 2 weeks notice. Access to the second level is available without notice every Wednesday and Saturday from Memorial Day - Labor Day, during this time full climbs are not available. The lighthouse was built in 1958 and stands 153 feet tall. There is 131 ships ladder steps inside. The lighthouse was once the brightest in the US and second brightest in the world.

WATER QUALITY
  • Passed water quality tests at least 95% of the time
  • Historical Status
  • This status is based on the latest sample, taken on January 8th, 2019. The Swim Guide updates the status of this beach as soon as test results become available. These results were posted to Swim Guide on at
For water quality icon legend, click:   
CURRENT WEATHER
2°C
Clear
  • Report Pollution
MONITORING FREQUENCY

Oak Island-Lighthouse Park, Caswell Beach (S15A) is sampled weekly from April 1st to October 31st

SOURCE INFORMATION

The N.C. Recreational Water Quality Program's staff monitor water quality at over 200 testing sites across the North Carolina. Monitoring locations are divided into 3 tiers based on their location and average public use. The more popular a beach is, the more strict the water quality standard will be.

The swimming season is from May - September, with April and October being considered shoulder months. All locations are sampled biweekly in October and once a month from November - March. Tier 1 beaches default to Tier 2 standards during the shoulder months and off season.

Tier 1 beaches are sampled weekly during the swimming season. All ocean beaches as well as brackish and freshwater beaches that average daily use during the swimming season will be marked Green when the geometric mean of 5 samples collected within 30 days contain less than 35 units / 100ml of water and when single sample test results are below 104 units / 100 ml of water. When water quality results fail to meet this standard, Swim Guide will show these beaches as "Red".

Tier 2 monitoring locations are sampled every two weeks April - October. These beaches will be marked "Green" when single sample results show enterococci levels below 276 untis / 100mL of water. When water quality results fail to meet this standard, Swim Guide will show these beaches as "Red".

A beach is marked Grey when there is no current or reliable monitoring information available.

Please note: Warning signs are only posted at beaches when a single sample results are above 500 units / 100 ml of water, however the press is notified to an alert when results show enterococci levels above 104 units / 100 ml of water for Tier 1 beaches and 276 units / 100 ml for Tier 2 beaches. Tier 3 beaches are in a separate region as boating is the primary use.

Recreational fishing permits are required for people over the age of 16 in North Carolina.

Swim Guide checks water quality results daily April - October.

WATER QUALITY GRAPH

Oak Island-Lighthouse Park, Caswell Beach (S15A)

Oak Island, North Carolina
Managed by The Swim Guide
WATER QUALITY
  • Passed water quality tests at least 95% of the time
  • Historical Status
  • This status is based on the latest sample, taken on January 8th, 2019. The Swim Guide updates the status of this beach as soon as test results become available. These results were posted to Swim Guide on at
For water quality icon legend, click:   
CURRENT WEATHER
2°C
Clear

Oak Island Lighthouse offers free tours to the balcony at the top of the lighthouse year round but visitors must provide at least 2 weeks notice. Access to the second level is available without notice every Wednesday and Saturday from Memorial Day - Labor Day, during this time full climbs are not available. The lighthouse was built in 1958 and stands 153 feet tall. There is 131 ships ladder steps inside. The lighthouse was once the brightest in the US and second brightest in the world.

  • Report Pollution
MONITORING FREQUENCY

Oak Island-Lighthouse Park, Caswell Beach (S15A) is sampled weekly from April 1st to October 31st

SOURCE INFORMATION

The N.C. Recreational Water Quality Program's staff monitor water quality at over 200 testing sites across the North Carolina. Monitoring locations are divided into 3 tiers based on their location and average public use. The more popular a beach is, the more strict the water quality standard will be.

The swimming season is from May - September, with April and October being considered shoulder months. All locations are sampled biweekly in October and once a month from November - March. Tier 1 beaches default to Tier 2 standards during the shoulder months and off season.

Tier 1 beaches are sampled weekly during the swimming season. All ocean beaches as well as brackish and freshwater beaches that average daily use during the swimming season will be marked Green when the geometric mean of 5 samples collected within 30 days contain less than 35 units / 100ml of water and when single sample test results are below 104 units / 100 ml of water. When water quality results fail to meet this standard, Swim Guide will show these beaches as "Red".

Tier 2 monitoring locations are sampled every two weeks April - October. These beaches will be marked "Green" when single sample results show enterococci levels below 276 untis / 100mL of water. When water quality results fail to meet this standard, Swim Guide will show these beaches as "Red".

A beach is marked Grey when there is no current or reliable monitoring information available.

Please note: Warning signs are only posted at beaches when a single sample results are above 500 units / 100 ml of water, however the press is notified to an alert when results show enterococci levels above 104 units / 100 ml of water for Tier 1 beaches and 276 units / 100 ml for Tier 2 beaches. Tier 3 beaches are in a separate region as boating is the primary use.

Recreational fishing permits are required for people over the age of 16 in North Carolina.

Swim Guide checks water quality results daily April - October.

WATER QUALITY GRAPH



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