In August of 2000, the Florida Healthy Beaches Program was initiated.  This program is designed to protect the public’s health by monitoring the bacteriological water quality of the beaches, bays and bayous of Escambia County.

We conduct weekly water sampling and report the results to:

Pensacola News Journal in cooperation with the Department of Environmental Protection DEP Water Quality Outlook and the Florida Department of Health Florida Healthy Beaches Program.

The Sampling process entails:

• Collection of 100 ml sample at these specified locations each week:

• The sample is taken to the University of West Florida’s Wetlands Research Laboratory (NELAC Certified Lab) for analysis.
  
• The sample is analyzed for Enterococci and Fecal Coliform bacteria (typically found in the gut of warm blooded animals). 

Fecal coliform and Enterococci are both enteric bacteria that normally inhabit the intestinal tract of humans and animals. The presence of enteric bacteria is an indication of fecal pollution, which may come from storm water runoff, pets and wildlife, and  human sewage. If they are present in high concentrations in recreational waters and are ingested while swimming or enter the skin through a cut or sore, they may cause human disease, infections or rashes.

• The sample is expressed as the number of colony forming units (CFU) per 100 milliliters of water sample.
• The Florida “Healthy Beaches” Program uses the following reporting guidelines:

• Within a 30 day period, a minimum of 5 sample results are needed for accurate reporting. A “geometric mean” is calculated to provide a more statistically significant picture of a site’s overall water quality.
• If the result exceeds the recommended thresholds, a resample is conducted. If the resample result still exceeds the threshold then an alert sign is posted.
• The alert sign states that swimming or other water contact activities are not recommended due to high bacterial levels.