Weekly Beach Report
Is the beach safe this week?
UPDATED SEPTEMBER 21, 2023
For this week, it looks like all of the local dog beaches have gotten a clean bill of health from the Florida Department of Health. That being said, the samples were taken the day before the heavy rains of Wednesday- which can quickly cause a change in our water quality. Beaches in Hillsborough County are only tested once a week, and Pinellas County are bi-weekly.
Water samples are taken by the Florida Department of Public Health from dozens of beaches around the state to test for fecal coliform and enterococcus bacteria. These samples are taken weekly in Hillsborough County- and bi-weekly in Pinellas County. It takes a day before test results are back- and we will report on these as soon as we can review and post them here. The quality of the water is affected by numerous factors- including heavy rains which can flush contaminants from the land into our waterways into the gulf. As a reminder- these results have nothing to do with red tide. For more information on red tide in our area, please see the FWC’s website here.
Don’t forget to check out some of our other blogs- especially our blog on the toxic and potentially fatal effects of saltwater on your pet. It can be fatal if your pet ingests too much. Learn the symptoms here.
As a reminder, Pinellas County is only offering bi-weekly water quality testing, as the county has chosen not to fund weekly testing.
There are lots of public beaches in our area- but we will only be posting on the following beaches since they allow our furry friends to play. They are:
- Davis Island
- Picnic Island
- Fort Desoto
- Apollo Beach Nature Preserve (not tested, but is nearby Bahia Beach- which is tested)
- Honeymoon Island
*Apollo Beach Nature Preserve is not a site that is tested, however there is a test site within a few miles of this dog beach- Bahia Beach. We will report the findings for this site. Use this data at your own risk.
You may be wondering about Gandy Beach water quality. The Florida Department of Health does not currently do testing at this site, as it’s not really a beach. If this changes, we will include it, since we know lots of folks take their pups there, too.
Hillsborough County Water Quality Results Results issued 9/2o
Picnic Island: Good Results
Davis Island Dog Beach: Good Results
Apollo Beach Nature Preserve: Good Results
As a reminder, Apollo Beach Nature Preserve has a dog-friendly beach. This site is not tested, but is only about one mile from Bahia Beach which is tested weekly. Use these test results at your own risk.
Pinellas County Water Quality Results reported 9/11/23 Conditions checked every 2 weeks
Fort Desoto: Good Conditions
Honeymoon Island: Good Conditions
The Florida Department of Health water quality reports can be found here directly.
For all local beach reports (includes non-dog beaches)- follow these links: