Swimming Advisory Lifted In Miami Beach

MIAMI BEACH, FL — The Florida Department of Health in Miami-Dade County took another water sample in North Shore on Friday and lifted a swimming advisory for that part of Miami Beach on Saturday afternoon based on the results. The advisory was issued on Wednesday. The water samples were taken at 73rd Street off Collins Avenue.

"Based on a satisfactory microbial water quality test result, the Florida Department of Health in Miami-Dade County is lifting the swimming advisory that was issued on August 9, 2017 for the beach site at North Shore (73rd Street) in Miami Beach," officials said in lifting the advisory.

As Patch reported on Friday night, health officials took another sample from the same place on Friday and planned to lift the advisory early Saturday afternoon if the results were satisfactory.

"I sampled today. We’ll get the results tomorrow," Samir Elmir, the agency's director of Environmental Health and Engineering, told Patch on Friday night. (Sign up for our free Daily Newsletters and Breaking News Alerts for the Miami Beach Patch.)

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Health officials said that the advisory was issued after two consecutive water samples at the North Shore location exceeded the Federal and State recommended standard for enterococci — an amount greater than 70 colony forming units of enterococci per 100 ml in a single sample.

The advisory was particularly worrisome because it came just weeks before the all-important Labor Day holiday weekend when beaches tend to have peak crowds.

Miguel, a Miami Beach resident who lives near 72 Street, said he had family coming to visit with small children and he had been worried that someone might carry bacteria from the ocean to his community pool.

The department of health's Elmir said it's important to understand that officials take only a snapshot of water quality from one particular moment in time. That's one reason why advisories don't forbid swimming.

"We sample the beaches once a week," he said. "We don’t have a constant monitoring every second, every minute."

With respect to Miguel's concern about people carrying bacteria into a community swimming pool, Elmir said that people naturally carry bacteria on their skin even if they haven't been in the ocean.

"People by nature carry on their skin — and in certain areas — more bacteria than what they would pick up from jumping in the oceanside, like the beach on 73rd street," he explained.

For this reason, health departments advise people to take showers before entering public pools. "You reduce that bacteria load before you jump into the pool," he said of showering. But, "that’s why we have chlorine in the water in addition to filtration."

The Florida Department of Health in Miami-Dade County has been sampling marine beach water quality at 16 sites weekly since August 2002, through the Florida Healthy Beaches Program. The sampling sites are selected based on the frequency and intensity of recreational water use and the proximity to pollution sources.

Water samples are analyzed for enteric bacteria enterococci that normally inhabit the intestinal track of humans and animals. Exposure may cause human disease, infections, or illness. The prevalence of enteric bacteria is an indicator of fecal pollution, which may come from storm water run-off, wildlife, pets and human sewage, health officials said.

For more information, visit the Florida Healthy Beaches Program website and Select “Beach Water Quality” from environmental health topics.

Photo of beach goers courtesy of Miami Beach Fire Department