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Beach Sampling
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:
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Collection of 100 ml sample at these specified locations each
week:
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The sample is taken to the University of West Florida’s Wetlands Research
Laboratory (NELAC Certified Lab) for analysis.
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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.
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The
sample is expressed as the number of colony forming units (CFU) per 100
milliliters of water sample.
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The
Florida “Healthy Beaches” Program uses the following reporting guidelines:
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Enterococci (single sample) |
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0 – 35 CFU/100 ml is GOOD |
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36 – 104 CFU/100 ml is MODERATE |
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105 or greater CFU/100 ml is POOR |
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A result of 105 or
greater requires a re-sampling
of the location before the issuance of an alert
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Fecal Coliform (single sample): |
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0 – 199 CFU/100 ml is GOOD |
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200-399 CFU/100 ml is MODERATE |
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400 or greater CFU/100 ml is POOR |
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A result of 104 or
greater requires a re-sampling
of the location before the issuance of an alert
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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.
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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.
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The alert
sign states that swimming or other water contact activities are not recommended
due to high bacterial levels.
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