Swimming 'not recommended' at popular Pinellas County beaches due to bacteria

Visitors to several popular Florida beaches were caught off guard this week by a public health advisory warning of high bacteria levels in the water. The Florida Department of Health issued an advisory for Clearwater Beach, Sand Key and Indian Rocks Beach, cautioning against swimming due to potential health risks.

Local perspective:

Despite the advisory, many beach-goers were unaware of the situation, with only a few signs posted.

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"I have a water bug as a kid, so that's just not in the cards for us. She will be upset, so we'll have to figure something else out," said Sydney Ralston.

Ralston spent two hours packing for the beach with her family. They drove from Lakeland to Sand Key, only to learn about the high bacteria levels when they got there. 

"Instant infection if you have a cut or anything like that, so it's definitely not worth it," she said.

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Luella Nelson from Tampa recounted her experience, saying, "We already swam. We were in the water for like an hour and then laid out for a bit. And then we walked back up, and we're rinsing off and then [a woman] told us about it."

What they're saying:

The Department of Health said bacteria present as an indication of fecal pollution, which can result from stormwater runoff, pets and wildlife, or human sewage. Nicholas Yee, visiting from Michigan, was surprised by the lack of warning signs. 

"It was kind of shocking, you know, that there's no signs out here or nothing. So, I mean, kind of sucked," he said.

He said he’ll probably stay out of the water for the rest of the trip.

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"I mean you enjoy this nice weather, and then you want to go get a dip in the water and cool off, but you know it's got bacteria and stuff in there, so it's kind of a bummer," he said.

Dig deeper:

For perspective, the last time Sand Key had a poor water quality advisory was in August 2023, lasting about four days. Clearwater Beach has not experienced such a warning in the past two years.

The Health Department is actively monitoring the situation and has taken additional water samples. The advisory will be lifted once bacteria levels return to normal.

The Source: The information in this story was gathered by FOX 13's Genevieve Curtis. 

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