Flood hazard

Miami Beach finds itself in a difficult predicament with respect to flooding, no matter its source.

However, Mayor Philip Levine and other city officials who rail against the scientists and their recently published studies showing unsafe levels of bacteria from human waste following flooding have made a classic error in judgment.

Instead of thanking the study’s authors and then devising a plan to remedy the bacterial pollution problem, they made numerous uninformed shots from the hip in an attempt to wound, if not destroy, the reputations of the scientists who performed this peer-reviewed work.

I urge Levine and his associates to apologize to the scientists and to begin the hard work of solving the underlying problems and protecting the public health.

This story was originally published June 25, 2016 at 4:00 PM with the headline "Flood hazard."