Advisories Issued at 4 Hillsborough Beaches

The Florida Department of Health in Hillsborough County has issued advisories for four beaches while lifting one at a fifth.

According to the agency, water samples at these four beaches tested above standards for enterococci bacteria on Monday:

• Picnic Island
• Cypress Point Park
• Bahia
• Ben T. Davis

“This should be considered a potential risk to the bathing public,” the agency wrote in an email to media.

Water at all four beaches will be sampled again on Monday, Aug. 3. The advisories will be lifted if the samples test within satisfactory ranges, the health department added.

Meanwhile the advisory for E.G. Simmons Park Beach has been lifted.

Enteric bacteria are found naturally in the intestinal tracks of animals and humans. The bacteria “may cause human disease, infections or rashes,” the agency noted. “The presence of enteric bacteria is an indication of fecal pollution, which may come from storm water runoff, pets and wildlife, and human sewage.”

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