3 St. Pete Beaches Reopen After Water Quality Improves

ST. PETERSBURG, FL — Water quality concerns that prompted the City of St. Petersburg to close three of its beaches to the swimming public earlier in the week have abated. The city announced that all three beaches were back open as of Saturday afternoon.

While Northshore Beach was cleared for public use late Friday afternoon, the city reported the reopening of Maximo and Lassing Park beaches just after 2:30 p.m. June 10.

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All three beaches were closed on Thursday after water testing results showed unacceptable levels of enteric bacteria. Enteric bacteria are normally found within the intestinal tracts of humans and other animals. Enterococci bacteria is known to cause disease, infections and rashes in humans.

When water samples test high for enterococci, the results indicate “fecal pollution, which may come from storm water runoff, pets, wildlife and sewage,” according to the Florida Department of Health in Pinellas County.

The health department on Thursday also issued a notice that water at Fort De Soto Park’s North Beach tested with unacceptable bacterial results. The agency plans to retest the water there early next week. Poor test results, the health department said, do indicate a risk for swimmers.

Folks who want to check on the conditions at other beaches along the Gulf Coast before they head out over the weekend will find online tools available to help them. Sarasota’s Mote Marine Laboratory conducts year-round monitoring of Bay area waters.

Mote publishes information collected from area beaches on the VisitBeaches.org website. The site provides a snapshot of conditions at beaches from Clearwater south to Marco Island. The online tool is updated regularly with reports on any flags, water color, red tide, air temperature, fish kills and other things beachgoers need to know about.

While the tool doesn’t cover every beach along Florida’s west coast, it provides a sampling of them. The reports are subjective, Mote notes on the website, but are designed specifically “to indicate to the beachgoer which beach may be more preferable to visit at a particular time.” Updates are generally provided twice daily.

To check out Mote’s reporting system, visit www.VisitBeaches.org.

The Florida Department of Health also runs the Healthy Beaches Program to keep track of water conditions throughout the state. That program focuses on reporting the results of water quality tests performed on a regular basis at beaches across the state. The results are published regularly on the FDOH website based on individual county testing and reporting programs.

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