No Swim Warnings Turtle Venice Beaches (Sarasota, Siesta Key: appointed, live in, pollution)

[lynne4t]

I saw this article in the Herald-Tribune and was wondering how often this occurs. Where I live in MA, there are several beaches that get closed throughout the summer, mostly those closest to Boston, but I was under the impression that Gulf Coast beaches were pristine. A little disappointed to see the article, as we absolutely love the area and hate to see bad news. Any insights as to what caused it? I know here it's often after a heavy rainfall when the treatment plants can't handle the volume.



No-swim warnings at Venice, Turtle beaches | HeraldTribune.com

[Rushmore]

So discouraging.

[TRosa]

Darn, I was planning to spend the day at Venice Beach Sat. Hopefully Siesta K will be good to go, Sat/Sun.

Thanks for the heads up.

[SoFLGal]

Rats! I was gonna go to Nokomis Beach on Saturday. Maybe I'll head to Siesta as well. I don't recall the beaches being closed before for something like this. Looks like the scientists don't know what the cause is either.

[Col.W.Deering]

Venice Beach and Venice Fishing Pier Beach have had numerous water quality problems and shut downs over the years. Here is a quote to an article from the Sarasota Herald Tribune in 2009:

"Venice beaches received among the lowest rankings in the state in an annual environmental study of beaches across the country. The Venice Fishing Pier and Venice Public Beach garnered one star out of a possible five in the National Resource Defense Council’s ranking of 200 popular beaches.

In Florida, five out of 65 beaches tested earned one star, with Venice the only city in the state with two low-rated beaches.
Siesta Key and North Lido Beach followed with two stars in Sarasota County.
The NRDC study uses last year’s health department testing data to determine how often a beach exceeds pollution standards. It looks at how often officials test the water and whether they post timely health advisories.
Venice Fishing Pier beach was under a health advisory for more than a month last year. The environmental group said old and poorly designed sewage and storm-water systems are to blame for most beachwater pollution problems in the country.
To view the organization’s report, visit tinyurl.com/n9nqfl."

This is 2010's results, which confirm that the quality is still not any better.
NRDC: Testing the Waters 2010

[SoFLGal]

Interesting....I don't remember reading about it in the paper. I know there have been many red tide warning over the years. But I don't remember this. I wonder what that actually means? I've been swimming at the beaches my whole life and have never gotten sick from it, as far as I know. And I wonder why the water quality is so bad?

Seems kind of odd that they'd name Turtle Beach and Venice but not Nokomis (which is in the middle of the two). Just doesn't make much sense. You would think they would say from x beach to x beach and not leave out beaches in the middle. So would that mean that Nokomis Beach is OK but the beaches to the north and south aren't? strange...


I'm gonna give Mote Marine a call and see if they can clarify.

Originally Posted by Col.W.Deering

Venice Beach and Venice Fishing Pier Beach have had numerous water quality problems and shut downs over the years. Here is a quote to an article from the Sarasota Herald Tribune in 2009:

"Venice beaches received among the lowest rankings in the state in an annual environmental study of beaches across the country. The Venice Fishing Pier and Venice Public Beach garnered one star out of a possible five in the National Resource Defense Council’s ranking of 200 popular beaches.

In Florida, five out of 65 beaches tested earned one star, with Venice the only city in the state with two low-rated beaches.
Siesta Key and North Lido Beach followed with two stars in Sarasota County.
The NRDC study uses last year’s health department testing data to determine how often a beach exceeds pollution standards. It looks at how often officials test the water and whether they post timely health advisories.
Venice Fishing Pier beach was under a health advisory for more than a month last year. The environmental group said old and poorly designed sewage and storm-water systems are to blame for most beachwater pollution problems in the country.
To view the organization’s report, visit tinyurl.com/n9nqfl."

This is 2010's results, which confirm that the quality is still not any better.
NRDC: Testing the Waters 2010

[TRosa]

Rating by beach location

Beach Sampling Results


According to this article, in the link below, last time there was a problem, prior to this recent event, was three years ago. It appears there's not such a frequent issue when reading various articles. The waters are tested often, though it takes two days to know if there is a bacterial problem. In such a case, you'll probably know before the lab. Same deal if you eat bad produce, meat, etc.

Beach Report February 25, 2011 | Ticket

[SoFLGal]

I called up Mote and spoke to one of their scientists. He said that sometimes nesting birds can cause this. Just like in the article, he said that it would be very unusual for this to happen without lots of rain or a sewage spill. Seems as though no one is sure what is causing this.

[TRosa]

I detest charts, but after getting dizzy from rereading that star rating chart, it appears that we could feel good about the quality of our beach waters. But then again, I'm terrible with charts, so you might want to check for yourself. Um highly suggested.

Here's what those little stars mean. As long as your beach has those darker blue stars you are doing quite good.

A Quick Look at 200 of the Nation's Most Popular Beaches

[atroxanautin]

Originally Posted by TRosa

I detest charts, but after getting dizzy from rereading that star rating chart, it appears that we could feel good about the quality of our beach waters. But then again, I'm terrible with charts, so you might want to check for yourself. Um highly suggested.

Here's what those little stars mean. As long as your beach has those darker blue stars you are doing quite good.

A Quick Look at 200 of the Nation's Most Popular Beaches

Yeah, its definitely a little misleading