TBO.com - TBO is Tampa Bay Online

Venice Beach Contamination Remains A Mystery

ADVERTISEMENT

By KIM HACKETT

Sarasota Herald-Tribune

Published: July 3, 2008

VENICE - Beaches near the Venice Fishing Pier remain under a health advisory entering the Fourth of July holiday weekend, even though tests indicate the water quality appears to be improving.

Health officials said people should not swim in the water until the advisory is lifted.

The Sarasota County Health Department samples water at 16 area beaches, and if the water quality level exceeds a measure of 105 fecal coliform bacterial organisms per 100 milliliters of marine water, the water quality is considered to be "poor."

Under those conditions, about 20 people out of 1,000 would report an illness after contact with the water, said Charles Henry, environmental administrator at the Sarasota County Health Department.

At high levels, fecal bacteria signals the presence of pathogens that can cause skin infections and intestinal problems.

Officials use an average of a beach's test results over a month and use a second barometer - called a geometric mean - to determine water quality. If that number is at 36 or higher, they post a health advisory.

Henry said officials do not know what caused the bacteria levels to hit 600 - nearly six times what is considered safe - at Venice Beach, Venice Fishing Pier, Brohard Park and Manasota Key beach on June 16. Other Sarasota County beaches had elevated levels, but none as drastic as those in Venice.

Heavy rain, which can wash animal and human waste from septic systems, may have had something to do with it, Henry said. "It kind of flushes all the ditches and waterways," he said. "When we sampled, the levels were very high but they were just a slice in time."

Venice did not report any serious sewer main breaks during that time to explain the high levels.

Levels dropped to a moderate status at the Fishing Pier on June 23, but started heading up again with additional rain. On June 30, the levels were up to 100. With numbers like that, it is hard to get the average down to a moderate level, Henry said.

"We're looking at data and looking at it in more depth than we normally would - what's been the trend over time," Henry said.

A Venice beach was closed because of contamination in September 2006.

Share this:

Loading Comments...

Email Print

ADVERTISEMENT