Thinking of swimming in these 4 Florida cities? Think again — they have high poop levels
UPDATE: Florida Department of Health Palm Beach County has lifted the health advisory for Dubois Park, Lake Worth-Kreusler, Ocean Inet Park, and Lantana Beach after recent sampling showed bacterial levels to be in a safe range.
Safe swimming is out of the question in four Florida waterways because the Department of Health says there is too much poop in them.
The Florida Department of Health in Palm Beach County has issued swimming advisories at Dubois Park, Lake Worth-Kreusler, Ocean Inlet Park and Lantana Beach after they did not meet recreational quality standards for enterococci bacteria.
Each location has more than 100 units of enterococci bacteria per 100 milliliters. This bacteria comes from the intestinal tract and levels this high are “an indicator of fecal pollution, which may come from storm water runoff, wildlife, pets and human sewage,” the health department said.
The agency also says that the cause of the elevated levels are unknown, but heavy rains, high surf and heavy traffic can contribute. Poor ratings are also associated with wildlife, heavy recreational usage, high surf from high winds and high tides or runoff following heavy rains.
These new advisors come after a summer filled with similar incidents. Several beaches and parks through South Florida have seen high levels of fecal matter in the last few months.
Crandon North Beach, Crandon South Beach and Haulover Beach South have all seen high enterococci bacteria levels.
This story was originally published August 14, 2019 at 10:10 AM.
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