Gulf Water Quality Results

Sorry to interrupt the bottled water tangent, but what is being done about the water quality issues? Denial and cover ups are not long term solutions!

Dogs drink out of toilets and puddles and lick their own assholes, giving them bottled water is a complete waste. If you must throw money away, try to aim for a homeless veteran.

The charcoal looking stuff is most likely peat that was dislodged during the recent storm. I've picked up some of it lately to verify, and it isn't tar balls from the oil spill. Alabama did have some more tar balls wash up, and according to the reports it was pretty much in the same condition as when fresh, which is more squishy and browner than the peat.
We have always had this peat here. It's harmless. But it's covered up a good bit of the time, so you have to be here a while to see it often enough to get familiar with the difference between it and tar balls.

I hope whatever kind of bottled water you are buying is not distilled, which has all the minerals removed. The minerals are essential for health. And also make sure it isn't crap like Dasani, which is tap water filtered and with some minerals added.

No it is not distilled. I order it and it is delivered. It is spring water. Thank you for the information on the peat

Well if I feel better giving them bottled water that is up to me and they are my children. I treat them as though they are and I drink bottled water so I give it to them as well. As I said, I was giving them tap water trying to cut back on expenses. Low and behold they got sick especially the dog. I had a cat throwing up water and my dog had diahrea and was throwing up. They have never done that before. I threw out the tap water and gave them bottled water because someone mentioned the bacteria in the water. My dog does not drink out of the toilet, he is to small. You are entitled to your opinion, but you could be a little more considerate about it.

I wasted $200 taking my dog to the vet and they could find nothing wrong with him. By that time his poop was back to normal and he was not throwing up anymore. Since I am giving them bottled spring water they are all better again. I do my share of donating to causes. Sorry if it is not the one you thiink I should be.

I am not throwing money away if it makes my children (3 cats and 1 dog) feel better.. Especially my dog who is everything to me. Talk about throwing money away. Because of the water I threw $200 away at the vet. I think people will agree that with the water issue going on giving bottled water to any living thing is not a waste. I also think people will agree that this is not a water tangent but a serious issue for all living things involved with water. I myself was shocked when I first heard of it. Something is very wrong there.

That is scary!

People have some very strong opinions on here which is fine, but I think they could be a little less testy about how they reply. I have the right to do what feels in my animals best interest whether it helps or not. I was very upset about my dog so I really don't appreciate the negative and self rightious opinions. I am sure I am not the only one who gives there animals bottled water and I would love to cut back on expenses that come from ordering water, but if it keeps them healthy I will.

I kind of agree with the notion that we have a lot of "experts" on this forum that would rather play down an issue rather than face the hard facts. Attitude starts at the top and trickles down. In the past I have been a little dissappointed in the way some of our moderators set this tone. I love humor but at times it is not appropriate. Nobody is crying wolf here. We have reason to be concerned about our water quality and everyone should be entitled to state their experiences whether or not there may be a connection. Unless you are a bonafide expert in the fields of biology or civil engineering and have real knowledge about why, where and how digestive bacteria are getting into our water supply then ALL information is important. Are we going to keep making fun of this when tourist start avoiding our beaches because they are worried about getting sick or heaven forbid worse? Of all the things we could poke fun of and joke about this ain't one of them! I read and post on the sowal forum because I care about our community however "some" of us seem to be believe that humor will help this problem go away...

I think the tourists will blame the local restaurants for food poisoning before they will realize it is the water they are swimming in making them sick.

Either way, bad water is bad for tourism.

Maybe we need to fly brown flags when the count gets too high.

I like that suggestion, but it needs some way to differentate it from the purple. Maybe a white cross to denote health?

Weekly Department of Health Healthy Beaches Report:

The Walton County Health Department conducts regularly scheduled saltwater beach water quality monitoring at seven sites through the Healthy Beaches Monitoring Program. The water samples are being analyzed for enteric bacteria (enterococci) that normally inhabit the intestinal tract of humans and animals, which may cause human disease, infections, or rashes. The presence of enteric bacteria is an indication of fecal pollution, which may come from stormwater runoff, pets and wildlife, and human sewage. The purpose of the Healthy Beaches Monitoring Program is to determine whether Florida has significant coastal beach water quality problems and whether future beach monitoring efforts are necessary.

Site Name Enterococci Water Quality
SP-1 Miramar Beach 48 Moderate
SP-3 Dune Allen Beach 20 Good
SP-4 Blue Mountain Beach 32 Good
SP-5 Grayton Beach 436 Poor
SP-7 Holly Street Beach 128 Poor
SP-8 Eastern Lake Beach 100 Moderate
SP-9 Inlet Beach Access 104 Moderate

Water quality classifications are based upon United States Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA’s) recommended criteria and Florida Healthy Beaches Program Categories:
Good = 0 - 35 Enterococci per 100 ml of marine
Moderate = 36 - 104 Enterococci per 100 ml of marine water
Poor = greater than 105 Enterococci per 100 ml of marine water

Health Advisories have been issued for Grayton Beach Access, and Holly Street Beach Access based on the enterococci standard recommended by the EPA. This should be considered a potential
health risk to the bathing public.

The Health Advisory for the Blue Mountain Beach Access has been lifted.

If you should have any questions, please contact the Walton County Health Department of (850) 892-8021, or visit the Department of Health’s internet Beach Water Quality website (www.doh.state.fl.us, click on “Floridians and Visitors” – under “Food, Water, Air, Land,” choose “Beach Water Quality.”

The 30A area beaches are not the only ones with Poor water conditions. Click on the website listed above, and go to Bay County and Oakaloosa County. They are as bad as 30A Beaches. I have not read anything that says anyone will do an investigation as to the cause of Poor water conditions. I think beyond issuing Public Advisories where needed, as mandated by the State of Florida, nothing more is done. The reason for the high number of pollutants in area waters is complex, with numerous contributing factors. It would seem obvious during the high Tourists season here, with the sheer volume of swimmers in the water, Vacation rentals with 15 people all taking showers and doing laundry and old over worked Septic Tanks and possibly even outdated Sewer pipes belonging to the county, would raise the pollutant levels. But there is more at work here than just that. The water Monitoring program that is in place, is very important, and I am really glad they are keeping tabs on the conditions and warning swimmers of the possible risks of contamination. But looking at the big picture here, it would seem reasonable to have the problem looked at and evaluate possible solutions. I am not as concerned about the reduced amount of tourists in the area as a result of unsafe water, I am concerned for all the enviormental impact long term these water conditions pose.

Having lived for long periods of time in countries where there was little or no regulations of such situations, I wonder what people did before we started being so "civilized". Ever since we bought here in 1991, I've never thought or hesitated to get into the Gulf but then I'm use to risks.

water quality

This is such a shame and such a scary issue. I know it has me worried. As someone said, I have not heard anything about anyone investigating the water problem, just testing to see iff it is safe enough or not. We have such beautiful beaches and water; I am having a hard time swallowing this bitter reality. Frankly I am pretty shocked. As I said before when I stopped giving my pets tap water they got much better. They had diahrea and were throwing up. I used to always give them bottled water, but had to cut back expenses so I started using tap water. Someone happened to mention the water issues to me and suggested I stop giving them tap water. After an expensive vet visit that showed nothing I switched to bottle water. They are all fine now with no stomach issues.

I hope we get some answers to this problem. This is not a small area of water so I cannot fathom how this could be happening. I have my own health issues and will not be going in the water any time soon, but I do brush my teeth and take a bath/shower in the water. My immune system is down from health problems and I don't need any assistance in getting sicker. What can we do about this???

water quality

There are quite a few left in Seagrove and Inlet Beach.

Also in Blue Mountain Beach area.

If humans are the primary cause of this problem and we are then it will take humans to fix the problem. We need funding for the sewer infrastructure required to support more and more people coming to our once pristine environment. We need civil engineers instead of marking and advertising. We need work shops and information to educate property owners and businesses. We need our local government to get serious about infrastructure to support the record number of tourist coming to our paradise. This problem is not going away from divine intervention and will continue to get worse. The water quality tests are just symptoms of an outdated system that must be corrected. It will be a mistake to hope this will get better without leadership to make this a priority over marketing campaigns. So if anyone does talk to God please ask for quality leadership in our communities!

AMEN!!!! Well said!

Okay, but here's what I don't understand:

1) We've had heavy rains for many years
2) We've had periods of high surf for many years
3) We've had these same septic systems for many years
4) We've head heavy tourist traffic in summer for many years

But, this is the first year we've had poor water quality ratings.

What's the difference? Are all the septic systems breaking down suddenly? It seems logical that septic systems near the beach would be bad, but is that really the cause? Right now that's just a bunch of message board speculation. Doesn't the health department monitor septic systems?

It's been suggested that overuse of these septic systems (by tourists) may be a cause. But if I had a rental house with a septic system, wouldn't the users see some indications of breakdown? I mean things like backed up sewer lines, sewage backing up into toilets and bathtubs, and pooling in the yard, which are things I don't think most renters would find attractive.

Yes I agree. I lived in a house in Blue Mountain (rented) and it had a septic tank. It does not take much for them to backup into the toilet and bathtub. This happened to me and it was so disgusting. If you put the slightest bit of a small tissue or something other than toilet paper it will cause it to do this. What they actually found was that the roots from a tree was causing the problem and had done so before. It was one of the most disgusting things I have ever been through. Not only was it in the bathtub but both toilets overflowed onto the floor and spread quite a bit. I will never rent another house that has a septic tank. I had never before and was surprised to find out those things still existed and having experienced living with one I'll never do it again. They can also cause odors for whatever reason. Definitely not something a tourist should go through especially when they probably do not know if the house even has one or not.

What can we do about this? This is probably about as good a question as anything I can think of. The causation is complex requiring real professionals but even before that there seems to be some reluctance to bring attention to the fact that we have too many fecal bacteria in our waters. I have been in this area since 2001 and I have never seen so many people that play down anything that might affect tourism. Fecal bacteria, inadequate traffic infrastructure, crude oil and drilling fluids from illegal drilling operations and the lack of sufficient life guards all affect our safety yet we find reasons to deflect these things for tourism dollars. That seems to be the bottom line. Tourism first safety last. Sacrifice our future for profit now. Money wins environment loses. Sometimes I fantasize about living in an earlier time when South Walton was pristine. I believe we still have a beautiful paradise but the future depends on these problems getting solved now...

Can't a law be passed that all septic tanks must be replaced if sewage connections are available?

Can't a law be passed that all septic tanks must be replaced if sewage connections are available?

We can't even manage to pass mandatory inspection, let alone replacement.

Property rights, govt interference, hardship, etc. etc. etc.

It's a Republican county and this is what you get.

Is it really septic tanks to blame? Obviously I would think that is logical, but the lack of information makes me wonder. Would think if it was so simple we could do something. Is it septic, is it dog or cat waste, what is causing it? We need to know what is causing it to fix it.

Is it really septic tanks to blame? Obviously I would think that is logical, but the lack of information makes me wonder. Would think if it was so simple we could do something. Is it septic, is it dog or cat waste, what is causing it? We need to know what is causing it to fix it.

Good question. I would guess, and it's only a guess, that it is both as well as farm animal waste that I would not be surprised to see turn up in the bay. I have heard and don't know if it is fact or not that there is a test that can identity this, but it is expensive. It seems to me we need more sampling locations, including the dune lakes, and more beach locations and more bay locations. And we need more frequent testing. The limited tests that we get now will stop over the winter, according to the state health dept website. Budget cutbacks.
Test results would need to be correlated to weather and runoff. It's true we had tons of rain but there were some bad results before the heavy rains started, if I remember correctly.
I don't see how we can find a solution until we know what is really going on. And it won't be cheap - a study should be designed by educated and experienced professional scientists, and more testing will be expensive also.
Oh, and we would also need to identify all the septic tank locations. I suspect this might be harder than it appears at first glance.
So - a thorough, science-based investigation with recommended solutions.
Anyone out there see the money or the political will for this?

I'm hoping this year's results are a fluke associated with the rains. We still have very high water in the cypress dome behind our house, so I'm not sure if that implies defective runoff into Western Lake or not. This water might be sitting fairly stagnant coursing through old Seagrove resulting in leaching of dirty crud toward the beach.

At any rate, I don't think anyone will seriously start to look into the cause until the heads in beds start going away over voiced concerns of water quality. I have learned that is usually the bottom line around these here parts.

Good question. I would guess, and it's only a guess, that it is both as well as farm animal waste that I would not be surprised to see turn up in the bay. I have heard and don't know if it is fact or not that there is a test that can identity this, but it is expensive. It seems to me we need more sampling locations, including the dune lakes, and more beach locations and more bay locations. And we need more frequent testing. The limited tests that we get now will stop over the winter, according to the state health dept website. Budget cutbacks.
Test results would need to be correlated to weather and runoff. It's true we had tons of rain but there were some bad results before the heavy rains started, if I remember correctly.
I don't see how we can find a solution until we know what is really going on. And it won't be cheap - a study should be designed by educated and experienced professional scientists, and more testing will be expensive also.
Oh, and we would also need to identify all the septic tank locations. I suspect this might be harder than it appears at first glance.
So - a thorough, science-based investigation with recommended solutions.
Anyone out there see the money or the political will for this?

I don't think there's a choice. It's a public health crisis. I think that the appropriate government agency (whatever that is) just needs to do the testing and spend whatever it takes to fix it.

Tourists aren't stupid. They will read these water quality posts and be scared to come here. Tourism will go down, and the local economy will suffer. Owners who rent to pay their mortgages won't make the same amount of money.

The only good news is that traffic will decrease in the summer and during spring break. As a future local, I'd prefer the traffic over getting sick from going to the beach.

Maybe we should have (yet another) 5K run to raise awareness. The 30-A trots trot, the dookie dash...the possibilities are limitless.

Maybe we should have (yet another) 5K run to raise awareness. The 30-A trots trot, the dookie dash...the possibilities are limitless.

The runs run ...