A water-quality testing programme has started at the island’s most popular beaches.

Environmental health officers started the annual check programme last month.

A Department of Health spokeswoman said: “Testing started on April 1 and monthly updates will soon be provided from sampling conducted from now until the autumn.”

The department tests seawater for pollution during peak summer months and started to publish the results on the Government’s website in 2014.

The move came after reports of so-called “grease balls”, which contained human faeces, being washed up on south shore beaches a year before.

A 2013 report by the Bermuda Institute of Ocean Sciences found that the waste came from the Hamilton Seabright sewage pipeline.

The US Consulate later issued a warning to American citizens that the island’s beaches could be a health hazard.

Last year’s seawater sampling results from 15 different sites showed levels of enterococcus — bacteria present in human and animal faeces — well below the US Environmental Protection Agency’s maximum recommended levels.

The Bermuda Government uses the EPA yardstick to measure the purity of seawater around the island.

The results are posted at www.gov.bm/seawater-monitoring-programme-bathing-beaches.

• To view the seawater sampling sites, click on the PDF links under “Related Media”