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Picnic Island beach closed over bacteria levels

Tribune phot by JIM REED

If you were planning to spend Memorial Day at Picnic Island, you might want to consider a change of venue, especially if you wanted to go swimming. The Hillsborough County Health Department has closed the beach until further notice because recent water quality tests detected elevated levels of bacteria in the water.

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TBO.com

Published: May 22, 2009

TAMPA - If you were planning to spend Memorial Day at Picnic Island, you might want to consider a change of venue, especially if you wanted to go swimming.

The Hillsborough County Health Department has closed the beach until further notice because recent water quality tests detected elevated levels of bacteria in the water.

Visitors will still be allowed to sunbathe or picnic on the Port Tampa beach but are warned by county health officials not to enter the water until weekly tests confirm it's safe.

The presence of enteric bacteria is an indication of fecal pollution, which may come from stormwater runoff, pets and wildlife, and human sewage, county health officials said.

If they are present in high concentrations in waters and ingested by a person swimming or enter the body through a cut or sore, they may cause disease, infections or rashes.

Details and tests results are on the Department of Health's Beach Water Quality Web site. For information on the testing process or types of bacteria found, contact the Hillsborough County Health Department at (813) 307-8059, ext. 5960.

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