Advisory Goes Up for Picnic Island; Lifted at 2 Other Hillsborough County Beaches

TAMPA, FL — People with plans to visit Picnic Island Beach may want to think twice about getting in the water. The Hillsborough County Health Department issued an advisory for the beach’s water after samples taken Monday returned with unsatisfactory results.

The water exceeded the threshold recommended by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency for enterococci bacteria, according to the county.

“This should be considered a potential risk to the bathing public,” the agency wrote in an email to media.

The health department plans to resample water on Monday, Oct. 10. If those tests come back with good results, the advisory will be lifted.

Meanwhile, advisories that have been in place for E.G. Simmons Park Beach and Ben T. Davis Beach have been lifted, the agency noted. The advisory for Simmons park was first issued on Sept. 12. A warning for Ben T. Davis Beach went into place on Sept. 26.

Enteric bacteria are found naturally in the intestinal tracks of animals and humans. The bacteria “may cause human disease, infections or rashes,” the agency noted. “The presence of enteric bacteria is an indication of fecal pollution, which may come from storm water runoff, pets and wildlife, and human sewage.”

The health department has been conducting beach water quality monitoring since August 2000. The test became a weekly undertaking involving nine sites across the county in August 2002. The state has also been conducting enhanced testing in the Tampa Bay area following sewage spills in Pinellas County after Hurricane Hermine.

For more information about the Florida Department of Health’s Beach Water Quality testing program, visit the state’s website. To check on water sample results, just click on county names.

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