Dangerous Bacteria Levels Found on Bradenton Beach

BRADENTON BEACH – Suncoast Waterkeeper is reporting that over a period of two weeks, dangerously-high levels of enterococcus bacteria have been sampled along the waterfront at Bridge St. and Bay Dr. South in Bradenton Beach, an area intensively used by tourists throughout the year.

The non-profit environmental group says that enterococcus levels exceeding 24,000 colony-forming units (CFU) per liter were gathered. Other samples reached 1,670 CFU/L. The state Department of Health’s threshold for beach closure advisories is 70 CFU/L, meaning Bradenton Beach’s bayfront samples have ranged from 24 to 340 times the levels the state regards as unsafe for direct human contact.

Bay Drive is home to a dinghy beach used by people coming ashore from boats in the Anchorage, a waterfront restaurant, and a number of docks and private piers with small beaches. Bridge Street is Bradenton Beach’s main commercial hub, linked to the bayfront at Bay Dr. and the historic bayfront pier. The area is frequently accessed by boaters and frequented by recreational paddlers

Suncoast Waterkeeper says it is monitoring 11 other sites weekly for enterococcus along Sarasota Bay and adjacent waters. The Florida Department of Health monitors public beaches weekly and biweekly, so Suncoast Waterkeeper makes no attempt to duplicate their efforts but to monitor other areas used recreationally that are representative of our inshore coastal waters. Other sites exceed the advisory level of 70 CFU, but they say the two Bradenton Beach bayfront sites are by far the worst.

"We are aware we had a problem, and we are about to start testing ourselves, so we can get to the bottom of it,“ said Bradenton Beach Mayor, John Chappie in a press release issued by the group. "You know we believe in the importance of clean, healthy waters. We have the clam project and living shoreline in progress. We just didn’t know it was this bad.“

The samples taken by Suncoast Waterkeeper were analyzed by Benchmark Enviroanalytic Laboratory in Palmetto. Benchmark is an accredited, certified lab used by agencies, corporations, utilities, and other entities.

"We are not pointing fingers here,“ said Suncoast Waterkeeper Executive Director Andy Mele. "We are concerned that there could be a public health problem, and we will be working with the Manatee County DOH and the Bradenton Beach government to help identify the sources and resolve the problem.“