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Bacteria Close 3 Pasco County Beaches

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A Tribune staff report

Published: September 26, 2007

County health officials on Wednesday discouraged swimming at three west Pasco County beaches because of high levels of bacteria that can make people sick.

The health department issued advisories for Oelsner and Brasher park beaches in Port Richey and Robert J. Strickland beach in Hudson.

Based on Environmental Protection Agency standards, all three swimming spots were rated poor for the presence of enterococci bacteria.

Enterococci and fecal coliform are enteric bacteria that normally inhabit the intestinal tracts of humans and animals. The presence of enteric bacteria is an indication of fecal pollution, which can come from stormwater runoff, pets, 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 can cause disease, infections or rashes.

Bacteria levels usually are highest after rainstorms, when runoff from roads and houses pours into the Gulf of Mexico. It is thought that the numerous inlets and shallow water of Pasco's beaches contribute to prolonged contamination because there are limited opportunities for water to circulate.

Since July 2000, the Pasco County Health Department has sampled water every two weeks -– and weekly since August 2002 –- at seven sites through the Healthy Beaches Monitoring Program, designed to determine whether Florida has significant coastal water quality problems.

For information, call the Pasco department at (727) 841-4221 or visit the state Department of Health online at www.doh.state.fl.us.

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