State: Beach water still ‘Good’ after Debby
Despite Hurricane Debby, the quality of water at the beaches of Lee and Charlotte Counties remained in the “good” category.
“Beaches in both Lee and Charlotte Counties were sampled on Monday,” said Michael Berry, Natural Sciences Manager for the Florida Department of Health in Tallahassee. “All results were good.”
The state keeps a website of all beaches, a process that began in 1998 with a pilot program. Today, beaches are monitored for enterococci bacteria, which is not fecal coliform, but indicates it.
According to the Environmental Protection Agency, enterococci are in the intestinal tracts of people and animals. If they are present in high concentrations, they can also cause disease or infections. Enterococci also do not die off easily in salt water, making them a safe indicator of water safety. A high number of “colony forming units” per 100 milliliters of beach water is 70, and that is when an advisory is issued.
Screen shot, Florida Health
There are 13 beaches monitored in Lee County, and eight in Charlotte County. Categories are as follows:
• Good = zero to 35 Enterococci per 100 milliliters of marine water
• Moderate = 36 to 70 Enterococci per 100 milliliters of marine water
• Poor = 71 or greater Enterococci per 100 milliliters of marine water
The last time there was a poor in Charlotte County, for instance, was April 22, 2024, when the number was 70.5.
Florida also regularly checks other issues with water quality, including blue green algae, brown alga (sargassum), vibrio vulnificus and red tide.
Red tide, for instance, is not an issue. The state checked for red tide at the Boca Grande Fishing Pier on Aug. 7, 2024, according to the state, in a status called “FWC-FWRI Karenia brevis categorical abundance.” As of this week, the red tide is “not present” which is the lowest of five categories.
That data, in “Karenia brevis cells per liter” is also plotted on a GIS interactive map.
Residents can check for all of these statistics at:
