Related: Along the Coast: King tides carry startling power, impact
By Steve Plunkett
As if rainy, windy weather and October king tides weren’t enough to deter trips to the oceanfront, eight south Palm Beach County beaches were closed for a week to swimming and other water-related activities.
Reopened on Nov. 3 were the beaches in Boca Raton’s South Inlet Park, Red Reef Park and Spanish River Park; Delray Beach’s Sandoway Park; Gulfstream Park just north of Gulf Stream; Boynton Beach’s Oceanfront Park in Ocean Ridge; and the Lantana Municipal Beach.
Nine locations in central and north county were also closed that week.
The Florida Department of Health in Palm Beach County issued a water quality advisory on Oct. 28 after tests showed the water at the parks “does not meet the recreational water quality criteria for Enterococcus bacteria.”
Boca Raton added its South Beach Park to the no-swim advisory list — even though water there was not tested — “out of an abundance of caution,” it said.
The Health Department advised against any water-related activities at these locations “due to an increased risk of illness in swimmers.” Sampling conducted during regular water quality monitoring showed that the level of bacteria exceeds the level established by state guidelines.
Enterococcus bacteria are a warning sign of fecal contamination and potential pathogen presence.
Health officials did not directly link the water quality advisory to the recent weather and tides.
“Causes of elevated bacterial levels that prompt advisories are unknown, but are generally associated with wildlife, heavy recreational usage, elevated surf from high winds, and runoff following heavy rains,” the department said.
People wishing to swim in the ocean can always check lifeguard beach information chalkboards or the Florida Healthy Beaches website at www.floridahealth.gov/environmental-health/beach-water-quality/index.html.
“To the best of our knowledge, the FDOH Healthy Beaches sign is flipped and a swim advisory is hand-written on the posted lifeguard beach information chalkboard,” the Department of Health said.
The department follows a set schedule for testing water quality. Each Monday, samples are collected at the various sites and are delivered to the lab by noon, it said. The advisory was lifted after Nov. 2 testing.
Samples may be taken from any point within the designated beach as part of the Healthy Beaches Program. Water samples are collected in the surf using a grab method at approximately 18- to 36-inch water depth. When the water sample results are received from the lab, a news release is sent out within the hour. Immediately following the news release, the results are entered into the state’s Healthy Beaches database and are available to the public.
The advisory lifted in early November was based on samples collected Oct. 26. It followed a similar no-swim advisory following the Oct. 19 sampling. But that advisory was lifted two days later after new tests showed Enterococcus in the acceptable range.
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