Georgia

Florida

- Beach Description

- Beach Access

- Water Quality

- Beach Erosion

- Erosion Response

- Beach Fill

- Shoreline Structures

- Beach Ecology

- Surfing Areas

- Website

Florida Ratings

Indicator Type	Info	Status


Beach Access	6	5

Water Quality	8	4

Beach Erosion	9	-

Erosion Response	-	5

Beach Fill	7	-

Shoreline Structures	5	4

Beach Ecology	5	-

Surfing Areas	5	6

Website	8	-

Explain this chart

Florida Water Quality

Water Quality Monitoring Program

BEACH Act
The Beaches Environmental Assessment and Coastal Health Act (BEACH Act) signed into law on October 10, 2000, amends the federal Clean Water Act (CWA), incorporating provisions to reduce the risk of illness to users of the Nation's recreational waters. The BEACH Act authorizes the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to award program development and implementation grants to eligible States, Territories, Tribes, and local governments to support microbiological testing and monitoring of coastal recreation waters, including the Great Lakes, that are adjacent to beaches or similar points of access used by the public. BEACH Act grants also provide support for development and implementation of programs to notify the public of the potential exposure to disease-causing microorganisms in coastal recreation waters. EPA encourages coastal States and Territories to apply for BEACH Act Grants for Program Implementation (referred to as Implementation Grants) to implement effective and comprehensive coastal recreation water monitoring and public notification programs. CWA section 406(i) authorizes appropriations of up to $30 million per year to develop and implement beach programs. Unfortunately, only about $10 million per year has been authorized since the program's inception. For 2009, the total funds made available for BEACH Act grants are $9.9 million. Funds are allocated to the states and territories based on a formula which uses three factors that are readily available and verifiable: (1) Length of beach season, (2) miles of beach and (3) number of people that use the beaches. The Florida Healthy Beaches Program was eligible for a $528,000 grant in 2009.

The Florida Healthy Beaches Program (PDF) was the subject of a February 2010 presentation by W. David Polk, Program Coordinator.

Much of the following discussion is taken from NRDC's report Testing the Waters, A Guide to Water Quality at Vacation Beaches, July 2009.

With its year-round swim season and more than one thousand miles of coastal beach, Florida has by far the most coastal swimmers in the nation. The state has 634 public coastal beaches stretching along its Atlantic and Gulf coastline.

The beachwater quality monitoring program is administered by the Florida Department of Health. Monitoring and advisory/warning issuance are conducted by Florida’s county health departments, which are comprised of agents and employees of the Department of Health. Local health departments in 34 of the state’s 35 coastal counties (Jefferson County has no accessible beaches) monitor an average of nine sites each. The administering agency for the beachwater monitoring program determines sampling practices, locations, standards, and notification protocols and practices throughout the state.

Monitoring occurs year-round, but the peak season is from April to mid-September. Tropical Storm Fay dropped heavy rains across the state last August, which resulted in many advisory days.

The beachwater monitoring program’s data is shared with the Total Maximum Daily Loads Program administered by the Florida Department of Environmental Protection, where it is used to identify waters that are impaired by bacteria and inform plans for improving water quality.

Escambia County is working with residents to bring central sewer service to the area around Navy Point Beach on Bayou Grande and discontinue the usage of septic tanks, an effort that should improve water quality at this beach. An epidemiological study of rapid test methods took place in 2008 at Miami Beach and another was planned for Tampa Bay in 2009.

The following table shows the number of beaches monitored per county.

Coastal County	Number of Beaches Monitored	Coastal Area	Major City
Bay	13	Panhandle	Panama City
Brevard	10	Southeast	Viera (Merritt Island)
Broward	15	Southeast	Fort Lauderdale
Charlotte	8	Southwest	Port Charlotte
Citrus	1	Northwest	Inverness
Collier	14	Southwest	Naples
Dade	15	Northwest	Cross City
Dixie	1	Northwest	Cross City
Duval	10	Northeast	Jacksonville
Escambia	13	Panhandle	Pensacola
Flagler	6	Northeast	Bunnell
Franklin	6	Panhandle	Apalachicola
Gulf	6	Panhandle	Port St. Joe
Hernando	1	Northwest	Brooksville
Hillsborough	9	Midwest	Tampa
Indian River	6	Southeast	Vero Beach
Lee	13	Southwest	Fort Myers
Levy	1	Northwest	Bronson
Manatee	10	Midwest	Bradenton
Martin	9	Southeast	Stuart
Monroe	17	Keys	Key West
Nassau	11	Northeast	Fernandina Beach
Okaloosa	12	Panhandle	Fort Walton Beach
Palm Beach	15	Southeast	Delray Beach
Pasco	7	Midwest	New Port Richey
Pinellas	16	Midwest	Saint Petersburg
Santa Rosa	7	Panhandle	Milton
Sarasota	16	Southwest	Sarasota
St. Johns	8	Northeast	Saint Augustine
St. Lucie	4	Southeast	Fort Pierce
Taylor	4	Northwest	Perry
Volusia	15	Northeast	Daytona Beach
Wakulla	2	Panhandle	Panacea
Walton	9	Panhandle	DeFuniak Springs

Total: 310

Although this is an impressive list of beaches that are monitored, there are actually about the same number of beaches that are not monitored.

Standards and Testing
Indicator Organisms: Enterococcus, fecal coliform.
Standards: Florida applies the EPA standard for enterococcus of a single-sample maximum of 104 cfu/100 ml and a geometric mean of 35 cfu/100 ml, as well as a fecal coliform single-sample standard of 400 cfu/100 ml.

Pinellas County has a preemptive rainfall standard for two saltwater beaches: Maximo and North Shore. Maximo Beach’s standard is 0.8 inch within a 24-hour period, while North Shore Beach’s standard is one inch within a 24-hour period. Monroe County also issues pre-emptive rainfall advisories, and Martin County has a pre-emptive standard based on turbidity. Most counties will warn against swimming after a sewage spill until sampling results are satisfactory. After a hurricane or tropical storm comes ashore, precautionary advisories are issued.

“Red tide” in Florida’s coastal waters is caused by Karenia brevia. The Department of Health gets frequent harmful algal bloom bulletins from the NOAA, which uses satellite imagery techniques plus buoy data and field observations to detect potential algal blooms. The Department of Health also gets bulletins from the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, which samples for K. brevia weekly in certain locations. The Department of Health alerts local health departments to be prepared for cases of respiratory distress or shellfish poisoning when a bloom is detected, and some of the health departments post red tide warnings at beaches. The Department of Health also has a red tide hotline that gets thousands of calls a year. One use of the hotline is to take reports from people who have experienced red tide-related health effects. Even non-swimmers can get respiratory distress from K. brevia because its toxins can aerosolize and be brought to the beach in air when there is onshore flow. Red tide can affect manatees as well as humans. Here is an article from NASA with a map of affected areas in 2005. Red Tide Relief is an organization dedicated to increasing awareness and promoting the prevention of red tide. More info. Even more info.

Monitoring
Determination of Monitoring Locations and Frequency:: Beaches are prioritized for monitoring on a county-by-county basis. Criteria are population served, pollution potential, and rainfall. While this ensures that the most critical beaches in each county are monitored, there are a wide variety of beach characteristics in Florida, and beaches chosen for monitoring in one county may not be as important as beaches left unmonitored in another county. A list of all beaches by county can be found on the FDOH's Healthy Beaches Program Web site.

Practice:Samples are collected in water that is approximately 18 inches deep, usually in the morning. Lab analysis takes a minimum of 24 hours to complete, and with transport and reporting, county health departments usually receive results about 30 hours after samples are collected. Most sampling is conducted Monday through Thursday.

As required under the federal BEACH Act of 2000, coastal states had to report all of their coastal beaches and indicate whether they were monitored. The list of beaches can be found on the EPA's Beach Watch homepage.

Florida Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) has adopted the following Criteria for Surface Water Quality Classifications (Chapter 62-302.530, Florida Administrative Code):

Florida Healthy Beaches Program Categories
Good = 0-199 fecal coliform per 100 milliliters of marine water
Moderate = 200-399 fecal coliform per 100 milliliters of marine water
Poor = 400 or greater fecal coliform per 100 milliliters of marine water
Sampling events resulting in a "poor" classification will normally require re-sampling.

As noted above, the statewide testing program now also includes testing for enterococci, which the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has recommended states adopt as a saltwater quality indicator. See EPA's Web site. According to studies conducted by the EPA, enterococci have a greater correlation with gastrointestinal illness associated with swimming in both marine and fresh waters than other bacterial indicator organisms, and are less likely to "die off" in saltwater. If an enterococci result were observed to exceed 104 colony-forming units per 100 milliliters of beach water sampled, and a re-sampling result also exceeds this value, then an "Advisory" would be issued for the sampling site.

United States Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA's) Recommended Criteria
Florida Healthy Beaches Program Categories
Good = 0-34 enterococci per 100 milliliters of marine water
Moderate = 35-103 enterococci per 100 milliliters of marine water
Poor = 104 or greater enterococci per 100 milliliters of marine water

Sampling events resulting in a "poor" classification will normally require re-sampling.

For this and more information about Florida's surfzone water quality program check out the State Department of Health (DOH) Florida Healthy Beaches Program Web site. Here you can review the beach water sampling results for reporting counties. Just click on a county name on the map or in the table. Each county page also has a link to data collected at any given site since August 2000, so you can identify the number of warnings issued for a given site over time.

The Beach Conditions Report from Mote Marine Laboratory provides several types of information about Southwest Florida beaches during red tide events: whether dead fish are present, whether there is respiratory irritation among beachgoers, what the water color is, the wind direction and what flags are currently flying at the beaches (for lifeguard-monitored beaches). The report includes beaches in Pinellas, Manatee, Sarasota, Lee and Collier counties. Residents and visitors without Internet access may also access the report by calling 941-BEACHES (941-388-5223).

The Phytoplankton Monitoring Network (PMN) is a National Ocean Service/National Center for Coastal Ocean Science program operating in ten coastal states with the ultimate goal of linking laboratory scientists to the general public. PMN's seven goals are:

To create a comprehensive list of harmful algal species inhabiting coastal marine waters
To monitor and maintain an extended survey area along coastal waters throughout the year
To isolate areas prone to harmful algal blooms (HABs) for further study by Marine Biotoxins researchers
To identify general trends, such as time and area, where HABs are more likely to occur
To promote increased awareness and education to the public, particularly students, on HABs
To increase the public's awareness of research conducted by federal and state workers on HABs
To create a working relationship with open communication between volunteers and researchers through PMN

Water Quality Contact

W. David Polk
Florida Department of Health
4052 Bald Cypress Way
Bin #C-22
Tallahassee, FL
Tel: 850-245-4240

Beach Closures

Closing/Advisory Issuance: The Department of Health does not have the authority to close Florida beaches; instead, advisories (for enterococcus exceedances) and warnings (for fecal coliform exceedances) are issued. All advisories and warnings are referred to in this report as advisories. In most coastal counties, officials issue an advisory if any one of the three standards is exceeded. However, if a sample exceeds a standard and the county can conduct a followup sample within the same week, the beach may be resampled before an advisory is issued. If the resample confirms an exceedance, an advisory is issued. There is no protocol for delaying or foregoing an advisory if resampling confirms an exceedance.

The Florida Department of Health posts monitoring results on its Web site. Local media is alerted and signs are posted at the beach when an advisory is issued. Advisories apply to entire beaches, not to sections of beaches.

Reopening Procedures: Most sites in Florida are sampled weekly and the monitoring frequency does not increase if an advisory is issued.

Florida had 216 advisory events lasting six consecutive weeks or less in 2008. Total advisory days for events lasting six consecutive weeks or less decreased 34% to 2,067 days in 2008 from 3,139 days in 2007, 2,686 days in 2006, and 2,991 days in 2005. In addition, there were 13 extended events (845 days total) and 11 permanent events (2,470 days total) in 2008. Extended events are those in effect more than six consecutive weeks but not more than 13 consecutive weeks; permanent events are in effect for more than 13 consecutive weeks. In 2007, there were 11 extended events (647 days total) and 10 permanent events (2,107 days total).

Beach Closure Data

Year	Temporary	Extended	Permanent
2008	2067	13	11
2007	3139	11	10
2006	2686	13	9
2005	2991	13	20
2004	3345	22	4
2003	3986	21	9
2002	1745	7	8
2001	686*	5	3
2000	527*	9	8
1999	671*	6	18
1998	1868*	3	5
1997	706*	5	4
1996	174*	2	1
1995	830*	0	0
1994	215*	0	0
1993	101*	1	0
1992	773*	1	0
1991	299*	0	0

* at least this number
Source: NRDC, 2009

In May 2010, U.S. EPA released its latest data about beach closings and advisories for the 2009 swimming season. Note that for some states the data is incomplete, making state-to-state or year-to-year comparisons difficult.

In 2008, Florida reported 634 coastal beaches, 306 (48%) of which were monitored once a week, and 328 (52%) were not monitored. For the fourth consecutive year, NRDC looked at the percent of monitoring samples that exceeded the state’s daily maximum bacterial standards (all reported samples were used to calculate the 2008 percent exceedance values, including duplicate samples and samples taken outside the official beach season, if any). In 2008, 4 percent of all reported beach monitoring samples exceeded the state’s daily maximum bacterial standards. The beaches with the highest percent exceedance rate in 2008 were Shired Island in Dixie County (90%), Dekle Beach in Taylor County (62%), Alligator Point (56%) and Carrabelle Beach in Franklin County (43%), Shell Point Beach in Wakulla County (43%), Keaton Beach (41%) and Hagen’s Cove in Taylor County (40%), Mash Island in Wakulla County (39%), Bayou Chico in Escambia County (30%), and Cedar Island in Taylor County (27%).

Dixie County had the highest percent exceedance rate in 2008 (90%) followed by Taylor (42%), Wakulla (41%), Franklin (27%), Citrus (19%), Levy (11%), Pasco (9%), Miami-Dade (8%), Hernando (6%), Escambia (6%), and Pinellas (6%).

Comparing percent exceedance values to previous years, NRDC includes only those beaches monitored and reported each year between 2005 and 2008. For this consistent set of 299 beaches, the percent of samples exceeding the standard remained steady at 4 percent from 2007 to 2008, but decreased from 2006 and 2005 levels of 6 and 8 percent, respectively.

The EPA has information on water quality in Florida, including a fact sheet.

The United States Geological Survey maintains a Web site, USGS Florida Water Science Center. It is a valuable source of information including current projects, online reports, publications, and maps, real-time water conditions and educational outreach material for teachers and students.

The Florida Sea Grant Web site is another potential source of information.

Storm Drains & Sewage Outfalls

An Ocean Outfall Study report was prepared in 2006 that identified the six existing ocean sewage outfalls in Florida and evaluated options for elimination of these outfalls, which pump 300 million gallons per day of treated sewage into the ocean. Legislation has been enacted to end the discharges by 2025. The Miami-Dade, Broward and Hollywood plants will have until 2018 to install advanced wastewater treatment systems. The treated water could be used for irrigation, supplying cooling water to two proposed nuclear power plants at Turkey Point, recharging groundwater supplies, industrial use, preventing salt water intrusion or replenishing wetlands. The Delray Beach outfall was closed in early April 2009.

Information on the location and number of storm drains and injection wells was not readily available. Storm drain data exists at the county level.

According to a 1995 USGS survey, approximately 53% of Florida's domestic wastewater from centralized treatment systems is disposed through surface water outfalls and 24% through deep aquifer injection wells. The remainder is managed through other ground water disposal systems, such as percolation ponds, land application, and Rapid Infiltration Basins (RIBs). Six facilities use Atlantic Ocean outfalls for wastewater effluent disposal. These facilities are located in Boca Raton, Broward County, Hollywood, Delray/Boynton Beach, and Miami-Dade County (2). The total daily ocean discharge from these facilities is about 300 million gallons. The South Central Regional Wastewater Treatment and Disposal Plant operated by Delray Beach and Boynton Beach pumps about 13 million gallons per day (down from 17.5 million) of treated sewage out its 30-inch diameter ocean outfall which was installed in 1964.

A group of recreational divers called Palm Beach County Reef Rescue have conducted scientific studies of the Gulf Stream Reef, located 1.5 miles down current from this discharge pipe. They believe that the nutrient-rich wastewater discharge has caused a profuse growth of filamentous red algae on the north end of the reef which is killing the coral. The Florida Department of Environmental Protection and Palm Beach County's environmental department both reportedly believe there is merit to Reef Rescue's claims. Further investigations are underway, coordinated by Southeast Florida Coral Reef Initiative, which could ultimately lead to limits on the amount of nutrients contained in the discharge.

As mentioned above, researchers from University of Central Florida, College of Charleston, Nova Southeastern University and Broward County's Department of Environmental Protection released a study in July 2006 that concluded that coral reefs off the coast of Broward County are sick -- and that the culprit could be the treated sewage that is released into that part of the ocean in Hollywood and Hillsboro Beach. Coral that grew near the wastewater outlets was unable to repair tissue damage, but coral colonies at locations distant from wastewater outfalls healed where scientists removed tissue. Coral growing near the outfall had elevated levels of fungacides, industrial chemicals and fuel oils.

A preliminary study released in April 2006 found that corals near sewage outfall pipes and storm drain outlets took longer to heal after being cut, as compared to corals that were not located near sewage outfalls. Damaged coral near one outfall pipe continued to get worse rather than healing. A more extensive survey is planned for summer 2006.

To renew a permit allowing them to continue dumping 13 million gallons per day of treated sewage into the ocean, the Department of Environmental Protection has requested that South Central Regional Wastewater Treatment and Disposal Plant officials design and implement a monitoring program to determine whether the output from the treatment plant is causing algae blooms that kill off the Gulf Stream Reef.

Within the decade, officials plan to end all of the dumping from the plant by making it capable of recycling all of the water it treats, rather than the current 25 percent.

Palm Beach County Reef Rescue and Surfrider Foundation' Palm Beach County chapter scored a big victory in January 2007 when the utility board members of the sewage treatment plant in Delray, Florida, agreed to make the outfall pipe carrying the waste of Delray and Boynton Beach residents go out of regular use and be the first outfall of six in South Florida to discontinue the practice ocean dumping over the next few years. The decision also represented a major step toward a resolution of the plant's 18-month-long expired permit in the face of mounting public resistance and criticism from county environmental officials. The Delray Beach outfall was closed in early April 2009.

Approximately 260 facilities discharge to other surface waters. Nearly 50 facilities use deep aquifer injection.⁹ This report is somewhat outdated and doesn’t reference thousands of injection wells along south Florida’s coastal areas. According to Florida DEP, there are 111 Class I injection facilities located along both coasts of Florida from approximately mid-state south.

The practice of using deep aquifer injection wells and other groundwater disposal systems for wastewater is coming under increasing scrutiny, due to the possibility of these practices contributing to contamination of aquifers used for potable water. The Sebastian Inlet and Palm Beach County chapters of Surfrider Foundation are concerned about evidence suggesting that shallow and deep well injection is degrading nearshore water quality at swimming and surfing beaches. The chapters have worked with Dr. Peter Barile of Harbor Branch Oceanographic Institution in Fort Pierce, whose research has indicated that minimally-treated sewage may be degrading water quality along some beaches in that area.

Surfrider's Palm Beach County chapter has developed a position statement on Aquifer Storage and Recovery (ASR) and other Injection Wells in Florida that states:

We believe that the State of Florida and the Federal Government must halt the funding, permitting, and construction of all new aquifer-injection wells, and deny any requests to increase injections into existing wells, and initiate aquifer-remediation activities to protect Florida's coastal environment, other surface waters and humans from contaminants already injected.

Also see this article that appeared in Surfer Magazine.

In November 2004, The Surfrider Foundation, along with Wetlands Alert, sent a notice of intent to sue to the White House, the Attorney General’s office, the Environmental Protection Agency, the Army Corps of Engineers and others, charging numerous violations of federal law, including the National Environmental Policy Act, Clean Water Act, Endangered Species Act, Safe Drinking Water Act and Resource Conservation and Recovery Act. The charges stem from the practice of using underground injection wells to dispose of sewage and wastewater in the state of Florida and elsewhere. According to activists from the Surfrider Foundation’s Palm Beach County Chapter, the Federal Government continues to support the use of injection wells, which flush billions of gallons of sewage into underground aquifers. Studies have shown that instead of being filtered through the limestone and other sedimentary rock as planned, contamination from the sewage is making its way into coastal waters, where it is killing corals and other marine life, as well as threatening the health and welfare of surfers and other beachgoers. “We are seeing dramatic increases of such things as red tides and other harmful algal blooms as a direct result of contamination from these injection wells,” said local activist Tom Warnke. “Currently over 600 miles of Florida’s coastline has been compromised.”

In February 2005, The Sierra Club announced that it is suing the state Department of Environmental Protection because it is charged with regulating injection wells. Sierra Club maintains the agency should have ordered some sort of fix upon discovering that contaminants could be moving into the aquifer. The Sierra Club contends in the suit that since 1994, trillions of gallons of the treated sewage has migrated from the injection zone into the Floridan Aquifer, from which drinking water is drawn. The dispute concerns the South District Wastewater Treatment Facility in Miami-Dade County, where 112 million gallons of treated wastewater per day is pumped more than 2,500 feet below the ground. The plant has had clean-water violations ever since regulators found a decade ago that ammonia, nitrogen and fecal coliform bacteria -- all signs of sewage -- had leached into monitoring wells that border the Floridan Aquifer, a possible future drinking-water source.

The Web site of the United States Geological Survey (USGS) has an article Florida's Geology Makes Wastewater Disposal a Potential Threat to Ecosystem Health in the Florida Keys which was published in the October 2004 issue of Sound Waves.

In November 2005 EPA announced that they had signed a new rule revising the requirements for disposal of treated municipal wastewater below underground sources of drinking water (USDW) in certain counties in Florida. Following is text from EPA's Web site:

A related concern is the practice of using wells to dispose of surface drainage water. Drainage wells have been used for flood control for decades in urban Orange County and elsewhere in Central Florida and there are reportedly 487 drainage wells in the area. The concern is that with every thunderstorm, a mixture of dog waste, automobile chemicals, yard pesticides and other impurities washes down these wells and may eventually contaminate Central Florida's drinking water supply. New wells were banned in the 1980s because of this concern, but in the mid-1990s state regulators slowly began to allow aging drainage wells to be replaced, partially because of the roll they play in refilling the aquifer. The St. Johns River Water Management District in Palatka is paying consultants at least $1.5 million to study the effects of two different types of drainage wells -- one that drains runoff directly from street gutters, and one that diverts overflow from a lake into the aquifer.

Leaking septic tanks around Five Mile Creek in Fort Pierce and Sagamore Waterway in Port St. Lucie have come under scrutiny as a potential source of algae growth and water quality problems in St. Lucie River and Estuary.

In October 2004 the Sierra Club filed a notice to sue the City of Tampa and Cintas Corp, who operates in industrial laundry in the area. The city reportedly had 36 sewage overflows or illegal releases between June 9, 2003 and June 21, 2004. Cintas reportedly had 16 violations of its discharge permit from March 6, 2001 to May 13, 2004, primarily for excessive discharges of pollutants like lead and oil and grease.

In the Florida Keys, antiquated sewage treatment systems contribute to coral reef pollution and degradation. Local governments there have just begun to replace 16,000 cesspools with modern treatment plants. Better controls on farming and coastal development are needed so that rainwater doesn't wash fertilizers, toxins and sediment onto the reefs.

In May 2005, the Clean Water Fund, a nonprofit Florida environmental group, released a report Are We Wading in Waste? - Sewage Overflow in Florida that reported that nearly 56 million gallons of sewage spilled into Florida's waterways and neighborhoods in 2004. The group reported the largest spills totalling 15.1 million gallons occurred in St. Lucie County and were attributed to 2004's hurricanes. The other "top ten" counties for sewer spills were Pasco, Osceola, Palm Beach, Miami-Dade, Hillsborough, Pinellas, Volusia, Orange and Brevard. A follow-up report in 2006 titled Are We Still Wading in Waste? found that the state accounted for 44 million to 51 million gallons of wastewater and sewage spilled in 2005, but that the actual total may be much higher.

In November 2005 there was an estimated five million gallon sewage spill from the Arlington East Treatment Facility in the Sandlewood area of Jacksonville, causing high bacteria levels in Hogpen Creek. A million gallon spill happened in the same area in 2003. As a result of these spills, St. Johns Riverkeeper is threatening to sue JEA, alleging the city-owned utility illegally discharged almost 8 million gallons of raw sewage since 2001 into local waterways. They also allege that the Florida DEP has documented 43 other permit violations at the same facility from September 2001 to February 2004. In January 2006, the Florida DEP fined JEA $45,000 for the November 2005 spill.

Here is information on Florida Department of Environmental Protection’s Nonpoint Source Management Program. NOAA and U.S. EPA announced final approval of Florida's Coastal Nonpoint Pollution Control Program in February 2008.

Florida DEP has a Web site that discusses evaluating and solving problems with septic systems.

Desalination
Another type of facility that could prove harmful to marine life is a sea water desalination plant. These plants typically suck in millions of gallons per day of seawater (and the marine organisms living in that seawater) and purify the seawater to provide a source of drinking water using reverse osmosis technology. The byproduct of this process is a brine stream that is about twice as salty as seawater. In Tampa, the nation's first seawater desalination plant built to serve as a primary source of drinking water began providing water for residents in 2003. At full capacity it is designed to generate 25 million gallons a day of drinking water. The plant has experienced major difficulties in operating at design capacity due to premature plugging of reverse osmosis membranes, and the long term economics and reliability of the plant remain in question.

Tampa Bay Water has tightened monitoring of the plant, and a $1 million program to detect whether the plant's operation is harmful to marine life is in place. Previous studies have indicated that the plant shouldn't have any adverse impact on the Bay's salinity or sea life.

Texas and California are also watching the plant's progress as officials in those states consider whether to move ahead with desalination plants of their own.

Cruise Ship Pollution
There is increasing concern in Florida regarding discharges of sewage, "gray water" and other wastes from cruise ships. Port Everglades, Florida is the third-largest cruise-ship port in the nation. A typical cruise ship can generate up to 30,000 gallons of sewage per day. Once a ship is three miles out to sea, raw sewage can legally be dumped in the ocean. Wastewater from galleys, laundries and hair salons (gray water) can be dumped untreated anywhere in the ocean. Although cost-effective technologies exist to prevent sewage dumping and passenger surveys have indicated that 93% support actions to require cruise ships to upgrade their treatment systems, not a single cruise corporation in Miami or elsewhere has committed to upgrade its fleet to state-of-the-art sewage treatment technology.

Surfrider Foundation's Sebastian Inlet Chapter has published information related to Gambling Boat pollution.

Surfrider Foundation also has published a general discussion of cruise ship pollution.

Algal Blooms
Harmful algal blooms, also commonly referred to a "red tides" have caused concern in Florida and have been implicated in the death of marine mammals. Although historical records indicate that algal blooms have occurred for centuries, there is a concern that nutrient runoff from development, farming and phosphate mining may be making the events occur more frequently and last longer. In 2005, a large algal bloom formed in early January which initially stretched from Tampa Bay to Sanibel Island/Sarasota Bay. The algal bloom was blamed in the death of at least 58 manatees, as well as crabs, sponges, soft corals and at least 77 sea turtles. A substantial amount of dead fish were reported along the Florida panhandle, offshore of Fort Myers and in lower Tampa Bay. By early September 2005, 732 tons of dead fish and other marine animals had been removed from the beaches of Pinellas County. In Collier County, 178 tons of dead fish had been accepted at the Collier County Landfill by September 14.

In September 2005 the city of Sanibel asked the state to declare a state of emergency because of the continuing red tide and associated odors and fish kills. City officials pointed to the increased releases of polluted water from Lake Okeechobee as a contributing factor.

By August 2005 scientists were reporting that the red tide had choked off oxygen and created a large "dead zone" which killed marine life on the ocean floor about 10 miles offshore of Tampa Bay. The state's Fish and Wildlife Research Institute in St. Petersburg reported that the area of no or low oxygen could potentially affect more than 2,200 square miles between Herando County and Sarasota County. Several large patches of algae were still found off Collier County and Pinellas County in November 2005.

Update (October 2006): The red tide bloom returned in late June 2006, affecting many of Florida’s Gulf Coast beaches. From the beginning of the year through Oct. 9, observers counted 386 sea turtle strandings between Pinellas and Collier counties, an 80 percent jump over the previous decade’s average.

Collier County has established an email notification system to alert beachgoers about red tide outbreaks. You can sign up here

There were also large ares of inland waterways effected by algal blooms in 2005, including Lake Okeechobee, the St. Lucie River, the Caloosahatchee River and Indian River Lagoon. High volume, continuous pumping from Lake Okeechobee seemed to be causing or exacerbating the condition. The inland waterway algal blooms were blue-green or green, and some samples were found to contain the toxic species Microcystis aeruginosa. A plume of brown water was observed stretching as much as 10 miles into the ocean from the St. Lucie inlet and divers reported that the depth of the brown water plume extended as deep as 12 feet in some places.

Current information on red tide conditions around Florida can be found on the Web site of the Fish and Wildlife Research Institute.

Human health effects of the algal blooms seem to consist primarily of respiratory problems, especially when winds blow onshore. Typical symptoms include a nagging, persistant cough, watery eys and itchy throats. During a three-month algal bloom event in 2001 Sarasota Memorial Hospital's emergency room admissions for resiratory problems were 54% higher for people living along or visiting the coast than during the same period the next year, when there was no algal bloom. The alga species in this particular case was believed to be Karenia brevis.

Greg Bossart, director of marine mammal research and conservation at Harbor Branch Oceanographic Institution, is studying the possibility that algal blooms could be the cause of recent mass strandings of scores of dolphins on Hutchinson Island and in the Florida Keys. Among the toxins found in harmful algal blooms are brevatoxin, saxitoxin and domoic acid.

Here is additional information on harmful algal blooms and domoic acid.

Algae blooms that create red tide, which kill fish and threaten tourism in Florida, would become a focus of government study under legislation drafted by Rep. Connie Mack that the Federal House of Representatives approved in March 2010. The bill calls on the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration to develop a strategy for dealing with algal blooms and to coordinate research on the subject. The ocean studies could cost as much as $34 million a year, with another $7 million per year for freshwater studies, although specific funding would be determined in later legislation. The goal is to monitor or control the outbreaks. A similar bill drafted by Sen. Olympia Snowe of Maine is pending in the Senate.

Oil Spills
The threat of oil spills is present along any coast where offshore oil drilling is allowed or where oil tankers transport their product. Calls for oil drilling off Florida's shores in both state and federal waters in 2009 and 2010 have increased concerns about the potential for oil spills that would cause serious impacts to Florida's multi-billion dollar tourist economy and coastal ecosystems.

A serious oil spill from a tanker occurred in Broward County in August 2000 that left 85 tons of tar (15,000 gallons of crude oil) on the beaches and disrupted turtle hatching season. In December 2003 it was announced that Broward and other counties will get $2.2 million in compensation. The money will go to two agencies, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and the Florida Department of Environmental Protection, which will use it to help areas hardest hit. A final damage assessment from the two agencies documented a week of beach closings in spots from North Broward to North Dade, about 7,800 dead turtle hatchlings, 25,000 pounds of dead fish and 12 dead birds. Plans include sand dune creation, tree planting and wood hut construction at yet to be named beach sites; dune walkovers and disabled access at John U. Lloyd State Park; and seabird protection signs at Dania Beach pier. Brevard and Palm Beach counties will get money to enforce lighting laws designed to protect turtle hatchlings. Ten acres of mangroves also will be planted on Virginia Key in Miami-Dade.¹⁰

Water Quality Contact (Runoff & Outfalls)

N/A

Perception of Causes

NRDC summarized the causes of beach closings and advisories as follows:

For events lasting six consecutive weeks or less, 93% (1,912) of advisory days in 2008 were due to monitoring that revealed elevated bacteria levels, and 7% (155) were preemptive (i.e. without waiting for monitoring results) due to other reasons.

The reported sources of beachwater contamination for 2008 are as follows: 60% (1,233) of advisory days were from unknown sources of contamination, 68% (1,411) were from stormwater runoff, 40% (834) were from sewage spills/ leaks, and 73% (1,499) were from other sources of contamination. Totals exceed 100 percent because more than one source of contamination was reported for some events.

According to Florida’s 2004 305(b) report, 3,126 square miles of estuaries were assessed for primary-contact recreation. Of these, 57 percent (1,769) met the designated use, 29 percent (914) had insufficient data to determine use support, and 14 percent (443) did not support primary-contact recreation.

Florida analyzed 3,153 square miles of estuaries for trends in all designated uses between 1994 and 2003. Of these, 9 percent (278) were improving, 3 percent (87) were declining, and 88 percent (2,788) showed no change. Bacteria and mercury are the primary causes of nonattainment of designated uses.

Florida coastal waters were assessed for fish consumption uses but not for primary-contact recreation. All 6,758 square miles of coastal waters do not attain water quality standards for fish consumption because of excessive concentrations of mercury in fish tissue.

The 305(b) report also cites the growing concern about the potential public health threat from harmful algal blooms, including red tides and blue-green algae, which are increasing in frequency, duration, and magnitude and may be a significant threat to surface drinking water resources and recreational sites. Harmful algal blooms are typically fueled by excess nutrients, most likely from agricultural runoff and sewage discharges. They may produce toxins that can harm humans through exposure to contaminated fish, skin contact, and even the inhalation of aerosols.

As mentioned above, Florida red tides were particularly problematic in 2005. There were more fish kills and other events, such as abnormal fish appearance or discolored waters, attributed to red tides in the first three months of 2005 than during the same time period in four of the previous five years. In March of that year, the well-publicized die-off of several dozen manatees in southwest Florida was potentially linked to red tides. Preliminary research from scientists working in southwest Florida’s Lee County on both red tides and red-drift algae (nontoxic microalgae whose blooms are also triggered by the presence of nutrients in water) suggests that occurrences of such blooms are worsening, are linked to wastewater discharges as well as other nutrient sources, and are initiated near shore, closer to sources of human-made pollution, rather than offshore as previously thought.

A state plan to reduce nutrients in the portion of the St. Johns River that flows through Northeast Florida has been found to be insufficient by the federal Environmental Protection Agency. The river would not have met state standards for dissolved oxygen under the proposal by the Florida Department of Environmental Protection, the EPA found, despite the EPA having approved that plan in April 2004. The EPA rejected the plan after reviewing it for a second time following a challenge in federal court by two environmental groups, the St. Johns Riverkeeper of Jacksonville and the Clean Water Network of Florida, based in Tallahassee. In the state plan that was rejected, nutrient levels were to be reduced up to 30 percent.

In October 2005, authorities with Region 4 EPA officially "disapproved" a disputed water quality rule Florida DEP used to remove Sarasota Bay, Little Sarasota Bay and hundreds of other polluted water bodies from an "impaired waters" list the state maintains under provisions of the 1972 Federal Clean Water Act.

Florida's alleged efforts to avoid Clean Water Act pollution cleanup responsibilities were the subject of a 2002 federal lawsuit brought by the Sierra Club, Florida Public Interest Research Group, Clean Water Network and others that challenged the EPA to protect Florida waters. The plaintiffs charged not only that Florida changed its water quality standards to "de-list" hundreds of polluted water bodies, but the EPA violated the Clean Water Act when it approved a 2002 state list that excluded waters with high mercury contents.

In July 2005, the EPA reluctantly acknowledged for the first time that Florida arbitrarily changed state standards for: 1) water quality criteria; 2) biological assessment; 3) nutrient assessment; 4) fish and shellfish assessment; 5) toxicity testing; and 6) impairment de-listing procedures.

In September 2009 the Gulf Restoration Network gave Florida a grade of D+ on how well they implement the Clean Water Act and protect their state waters and public health. The Clean Up Your Act report grades the Gulf States on issues such as establishing water quality standards, policies to prevent Dead Zone-causing pollution, public health protection, and facilitating public participation in the policy-making process.

In January 2010 EPA proposed numeric nutrient water quality standards for lakes and flowing waters, including canals, within the State of Florida and proposed regulations to establish a framework for Florida to develop “restoration standards” for impaired waters. EPA issued this proposed rule pursuant to a determination that EPA made on January 14, 2009, under section 303(c)(4)(B) of the Clean Water Act. The determination states that numeric nutrient water quality standards for lakes and flowing waters and for estuaries and coastal waters are necessary for the State of Florida to meet the requirements of Clean Water Act section 303(c). EPA signed the proposed rule addressing lakes and flowing waters on January 14, 2010, per the terms of a consent decree. More info.

Pathogen Monitoring
An FCMP grant is allowing DOH to collaborate with the Oceans and Human Health Center at the University of Miami to investigate sources of ocean pollution and to develop new monitoring tools. The project will monitor pathogens in nearshore waters and within sediments of the intertidal zone. It will also analyze E. coli, fecal coliform, C. perfringens and a suite of pathogens. Results will be used to determine whether or not elevated levels of enterococci are correlated with the presence of pathogens.

DOH is also examining: (1) the occurrence of microbial indicators of fecal pollution in public beach waters; (2) the source of the indicators; and (3) how local factors influence indicators’ occurrence and persistence. The study’s main objective is to increase understanding of the relationship of documented pathogens to indicators used in beach monitoring. Determining possible sources of contamination will assist in the assessment and prevention of chronic and acute beach pollution and allow prioritization of pollution remediation projects.

Public Education

DEP's Web site has information on Florida's volunteer water quality monitoring program and other volunteer opportunities.

The Educator's Guide to Marine Debris, Southeast and Gulf of Mexico was produced by COSEE SE, various Sea Grant organizations and others.

The five U.S. Gulf of Mexico States — Alabama, Florida, Louisiana, Mississippi, and Texas — formed the Gulf of Mexico Alliance in 2004 to increase regional collaboration and enhance the ecological and economic health of the Gulf of Mexico region. The Alliance is focused on the following priority areas:

Water Quality
Habitat Conservation and Restoration
Ecosystem Integration and Assessment
Nutrients & Nutrient Impacts
Coastal Community Resilience
Environmental Education

In addition, the Gulf of Mexico Alliance is deeply concerned about the potential environmental impacts the BP oil spill incident on the Gulf Coast region. Each Gulf state is implementing an emergency response plan, and due to the strong Gulf States alliance, agencies are coordinating to address the uncertain future of the region in the wake of the oil spill. Ongoing activities of the Alliance will support future mitigation actions related to water quality and the habitats impacted by this incident.

General Reference Documents and Websites

NOAA has created an Alternatives for Coastal Development Web site which illustrates and analyzes three different residential development scenarios for for a hypothetical coastal property. Economic, environmental, and social indicators are calculated and compared for each scenario. This information should be useful to anyone (developers, citizens, local governments, etc.) interested in applying similar development design components in their communities.

Two useful brochures that link landscaping design with water conservation and a reduction in "urban runoff" pollution are Florida Friendly Landscaping and Florida Friendly Yards

Florida's Clean Marinas and Boatyards program is helping to prevent pollution and protect the state's sensitive waterways. In its first five years, Florida officially certified 79 Clean Marinas and 12 Clean Boatyards within 25 counties.

Certified Clean Marinas and Boatyards in the Florida Keys include Key Largo Kampground, Bayside Marina at Worldwide Sportsman, Snake Creek Boatworks, and Taveenier Creek Marina in the Upper Keys; the City of Marathon Marina and Bahia Honda State Park in the Middle Keys; and Boca Chica Naval Air Station in the Lower Keys. Together, the environmentally friendly facilities have recycled more than 600,000 pounds of glass, 1.5 million pounds of paper, 3.7 million pounds of aluminum, 5.6 million gallons of oil and a million gallons of antifreeze.

Recently, the Clean Marina Program expanded its scope to include marine retailers, which sell and service new and used recreational vessels. Extending the program to retailers provides an opportunity to inform thousands of boaters about clean boating habits at the point of sales and services. Clean Marinas, Boatyards, and now Marine Retailers, go above and beyond required environmental regulations by adopting safeguards that keep solvents, sewage, fuel and oil out of the water, while protecting manatees and other marine creatures.

The Clean Boating Partnership, which includes state and federal government agencies and the Marine Industries Association of Florida, developed the Clean Marina Program to help marinas, boat yards and boaters protect water quality using simple environmental practices that prevent pollution.¹³

Jacksonville’s Museum of Science and History (MOSH) holds an annual Water Education Festival. The festival fills MOSH with dozens of interactive displays and activities, designed to teach the importance of Florida’s water and natural resources in ways to appeal to children. Other highlights include making crafts, playing water education games, and interacting with water animals from the Jacksonville Zoo. Fun features include a marine animal touch tank, a “wild weather” presentation, and water songs performed by the Orange Park Elementary School Singers. Admission is free throughout the event. The Water Education Festival is sponsored by the St. Johns River Water Management District and the city of Jacksonville’s Environmental Protection Board.

EPA has compiled several NPS (Nonpoint Source) Outreach Products that are a selection of television, radio, and print products on nonpoint source pollution that have been developed by various agencies and organizations around the country. They are good examples of outreach in the mass media.

NOAA, in partnership with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, International City/County Management Association and Rhode Island Sea Grant, will be releasing, in August 2009, a first-of-its kind interagency guide that adapts smart growth principles to the unique needs of coastal and waterfront communities. Smart Growth for Coastal and Waterfront Communities builds on existing smart growth principles to offer 10 coastal and waterfront-specific guidelines that help manage development while balancing environmental, economic, and quality of life issues.

USGS' Great Lakes Beach Science Web site has a nationwide database that contains greater than 1200 citations for publications directly and indirectly pertaining to recreational water quality intended for access by the general public and scientific community. It is a fully searchable, downloadable bibliography that has been categorized into major study topics.