Poopwater strikes again.
Hillsborough County health officials have discouraged swimming at the Courtney Campbell Causeway’s Ben T. Davis Beach and Davis Islands Beach after samplings taken on Wednesday, Sept. 9 found high levels of the intestinal bacteria, enterococci, an indicator of fecal pollution in the water.
“This should be considered a potential risk to the bathing public and swimming is not recommended,” a Thursday alert from the Hillsborough County Health Department said.
Last month, Davis Islands Beach, located near the mouth of the Hillsborough River and within one of Tampa’s priciest zip codes, went under a “no swim advisory” after samplings found high traces of enterococci.
Both beaches will be re-sampled on Wednesday, Sept. 16 according to the release, which added that the advisory will be lifted when re-sampling indicates that the water is within the satisfactory range.
Enterococci bacteria can cause human disease, infections and rashes. The source of the bacteria can be a stormwater runoff, animal droppings or human sewage, according to the release.
High levels of enterococci have been a recurring problem at some local beaches, which is a bummer since getting into some saltwater has been good for everyone’s sanity lately. I guess you’ll just have to sit on shore and take a deep breath of the salty, poopy, air.
More information is at floridahealth.gov.
Support local journalism in these crazy days. Our small but mighty team is working tirelessly to bring you up to the minute news on how Coronavirus is affecting Tampa and surrounding areas. Please consider making a one time or monthly donation to help support our staff. Every little bit helps.
Subscribe to our newsletter and follow @cl_tampabay on Twitter. Follow Creative Loafing Tampa Bay on Google News, too.
