Gulf Water Quality Results

[Beach Runner]

I received an email from surfrider.org. Today is the 40th anniversary of the Clean Water Act. They have a link to a form letter (http://action.surfrider.org/p/dia/action/public/?action_KEY=5423) that you might want to send to the EPA. I plan to personalize it so that it conveys the poor water test results, yet the lack of action by any agency to fix the problem. Apparently 1 out of 28 people get sick due to going to the beach.

 

[heartbren]

EPA Site

I received an email from surfrider.org. Today is the 40th anniversary of the Clean Water Act. They have a link to a form letter (http://action.surfrider.org/p/dia/action/public/?action_KEY=5423) that you might want to send to the EPA. I plan to personalize it so that it conveys the poor water test results, yet the lack of action by any agency to fix the problem. Apparently 1 out of 28 people get sick due to going to the beach.

Well, I for one wrote to the site above regarding the water quality. If everyone sends a message perhaps they will investigate. At least it is a start. That was a startling percentage listed above (1 out of 28 people get sick at the beach). Such beautiful water to be making people sick. Thanks Beach Runner for the information!!

 

[Beach Runner]

Well, I for one wrote to the site above regarding the water quality. If everyone sends a message perhaps they will investigate. At least it is a start. That was a startling percentage listed above (1 out of 28 people get sick at the beach). Such beautiful water to be making people sick. Thanks Beach Runner for the information!!

You're welcome.

 

[30A Skunkape]

I received an email from surfrider.org. Today is the 40th anniversary of the Clean Water Act. They have a link to a form letter (http://action.surfrider.org/p/dia/action/public/?action_KEY=5423) that you might want to send to the EPA. I plan to personalize it so that it conveys the poor water test results, yet the lack of action by any agency to fix the problem. Apparently 1 out of 28 people get sick due to going to the beach.

To clarify, nowhere does it say "1 out of 28 people that go to the beach get sick". Apparently the EPA finds this to be an acceptable value-whether or not this is so, I'm not sure, perhaps someone can figure that out. And to further clarify, the '1 in 28' value is for the whole country, not SOWAL, Florida, California...everywhere, and may or may not be limited to salt water. I imagine the '1 in 28' value is analogous to the infamous minimum number of acceptable insect parts in food the Agriculture Dept. sets.

A good contact to start looking into this would be Cindy Meadows. She lives in old Seagrove-rememeber though, she does not assume office until after the runoff election.

And if anyone wants to do a little leg work, I have noticed a sewerage type odor on 395 just north of Seagrove Market area, and there is some sort of pumping house looking structure there, on the west side of the highway. Maybe it is a factor, maybe not. But if Holly Street is the epicenter of unwholesome water, this would be a potential issue.

 

[Beach Runner]

To clarify, nowhere does it say "1 out of 28 people that go to the beach get sick". Apparently the EPA finds this to be an acceptable value-whether or not this is so, I'm not sure, perhaps someone can figure that out. And to further clarify, the '1 in 28' value is for the whole country, not SOWAL, Florida, California...everywhere, and may or may not be limited to salt water. I imagine the '1 in 28' value is analogous to the infamous minimum number of acceptable insect parts in food the Agriculture Dept. sets.

A good contact to start looking into this would be Cindy Meadows. She lives in old Seagrove-rememeber though, she does not assume office until after the runoff election.

And if anyone wants to do a little leg work, I have noticed a sewerage type odor on 395 just north of Seagrove Market area, and there is some sort of pumping house looking structure there, on the west side of the highway. Maybe it is a factor, maybe not. But if Holly Street is the epicenter of unwholesome water, this would be a potential issue.

The "1 out of 28" quote was from a Surfrider.org email which I have deleted (or else I would attach a pdf of it). In the context in which I read it, it was referring to beaches in general, not SoWal.

Do you have Cindy's email address? I have deleted the old email from her in Outlook. She helped us stop a developer from overbuilding on a lot next to us in Seagrove. I feel bad that it cost him a lot of money, but it was the right thing to do for Seagrove. We see him occasionally and exchange greetings. You know how (according to my poor memory) 4 homes are going up in Seagrove where Seagrove Villas used to be? Well, this person was proposing 8 homes on a smaller piece of beachfront property. Thankfully my husband has SketchUp skillz and did a three-D model of what an eyesore that would be. Cindy helped us with her support at the BCC.

That smell has been there ever since we were building our home in 2002. I always roll up my windows there, even if we are just arriving in Seagrove and are anxious to smell the Gulf.

 

[reece]

interesting article

i read this article and immediately it made me wonder if something like this may have been going on in SoWal during last year's beach sampling. i still wonder if TPTB are even aware of the situation and if so, have they given any thought to fixing the problem...

http://www.heraldtribune.com/article/20120508/COLUMNIST/120509609

 

[lenzoe]

i read this article and immediately it made me wonder if something like this may have been going on in SoWal during last year's beach sampling. i still wonder if TPTB are even aware of the situation and if so, have they given any thought to fixing the problem...

http://www.heraldtribune.com/article/20120508/COLUMNIST/120509609

Very interesting. My gut feeling was it was due to the increasing dog poop -- I've seen a marked increase in doggy doo along road sides around here., especially near the beaches. I wonder if that has increased the rat and racoon populations.

With respect to TPTB, I've still no idea if they're even investigating. Last time I called the state they through out the theory that it could be bird feces related and heavier last year due to the increased seaweed/sargassum holding and concentrating bird droppings like a sponge. It would be nice if they could pin down the contaminant source with a DNA test here too. May have nothing to do with the human septic systems as everyone has been speculating.

 

[lenzoe]

P.S. Is there a storm sewer drainage pipe at Holly Street? That was a frequent high offender last year.

 

[reece]

so, we are coming down in may. will they post advisories at the beaches, along rosemary, if the water is above the level for their guidelines? will the lifeguards enforce it?

 

[Jim Tucker]

Lifeguards don't enforce anything. Not their job. Any postings are advisory only. Swim at your own risk.

But I haven't heard of any bad reports since last year. If it starts up in June again my bet would be on tourist poop on overtaxed systems. Gotta get rid of the septic tanks on lakes, wetlands, and beaches.