Three beaches in Saint Petersburg Florida were temporarily closed due to high bacteria levels. Two of these beaches- Northshore and Lassing Park are just north and south of the St. Pete Sailing Center, where children are taking part in sailing camp this week.
Basin areas do not flush as frequently as the beaches do, and, therefore, hold contaminants and bacteria longer. But St. Pete does not test basin waters.
It's horrible that St. Pete's water quality is unsafe at these beaches, but as the city is aware, it's likely that water quality is even worse at the Sailing Center – but because no testing was done, no warning was issued. Our kids were allowed to swim and sail in water that was very likely unsafe.
The city must expand its water quality testing program to include basin areas, such as the Sailing Center, and make this information more readily available to the public.
