I used to live on the beach in South Florida and these
advisories are nothing new. This happens frequently because they pump
raw sewage through underwater pipelines out into the ocean. Most
of the pipelines extend a couple of miles out from the shoreline and
the sewage is carried away by the Gulf Stream currents and
effectively dispersed. Many of these sewage pipes are very old and prone
to leakage. When I lived in Miami, a large underwater pipeline broke
wide open and was pouring tons of raw sewage into the bay until it was shut
down and repaired. What a mess! They've had quite a few other
similar incidents over the years. The tides and currents normally take
care of these pollution problems, but some times they
"misbehave."
Most visitors don't even realize raw sewage is being
pumped into the Ocean, they never see any of the pipelines and the Chamber
of Commerce and Department of Tourism certainly isn't going to tell them about
it. The average visitor looks at the crystal clear water and assumes it's
safe to swim in. Most of the time it is, but not always.
These water advisory reports are bad for tourism so they try
and keep a lid on most of them. This article doesn't say
anything about it, but it sounds to me like they have another pipeline that's in
need of repair. Again.
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- Fla. officials warn of bacteria outbreak PPAINE
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