Aug 3, 2006 4:07 pm US/Eastern
South Florida's Beaches Among Nation's Cleanest
WASHINGTON (CBS4 News) ―
South Florida's beaches rank among the cleanest in the state, and Florida's beaches are among the cleanest in the nation, according to a new report released Thursday by the Natural Resources Defense Council.
According to the report, Florida's beaches rank among the nation's cleanest based on national standards.
In the study, which compared quality from hundreds of beaches nationwide, only four percent of Florida's beach samples exceeded the national bacteria standard in 2005, That's half the national average. None of the beaches which were persistent violators were in South Florida.
In fact, Miami-Dade County had 3 beaches which never exceeded federal pollution standards, while Palm Beach county had two. 35 percent of Florida's 307 monitored beaches never exceeded the state standard at any time last year.
But environmentalists say that closures and health advisories due to pollution increased slightly last year, in part because of hurricanes and red tide.
The director of Clean Water Network of Florida says it's no surprise the state has had to put out 'no swimming' signs more and more "because every day Florida's gaining a thousand new people." Linda Young adds that the state has inadequate sewage treatment facilities and inadequate stormwater regulations.
Worst 10 beaches for exceeding the state's bacteria standard (county in parenthesis):
Shired Island (Dixie), 88 percent
Hagan's Cove (Taylor), 83 percent
Lincoln Park (Okaloosa), 82 percent
Bayou Chico (Escambia), 78 percent
Cedar Island(Taylor), 78 percent
Mash Island (Wakulla), 73 percent
Rocky Bayou-Fred Gannon State Park (Okaloosa), 73 percent
Keaton Beach (Taylor), 72 percent
Dekle Beach (Taylor), 71 percent
Carrabelle Beach (Franklin), 69 percent
(© 2006 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)
