SSWA SB 604 will be heard Monday, February 7 before the Senate Environment and Natural Resources Committee.
Support the bill with an email HERE.
Residents and tourists come to Florida’s iconic waters for recreation and enjoyment. Unfortunately, 9,000 miles of rivers and streams and nearly 1 million acres of coastal estuaries are known (by Florida Department of Environmental Protection) to have unsafe levels of fecal indicator bacteria (FIB).
FIBs indicate the presence of dangerous pathogens that are rarely monitored for by the state. Most of these polluted waterways do not have public notification of the potential health risks from FIBs and the pathogens they indicate.
Currently, warnings are only being posted at a small set of coastal beaches and boat ramps (by the Florida Department of Health). We must establish better policy throughout Florida for consistent signage to effectively notify the public about these verified health risks.
The Safe Waterways Act (SB 604 / HB 393) can solve this problem and needs your support.
Please help this important bill pass the ENR committee now and be heard by the full body this session.
Residents and visitors have the right to know if the waters they swim and recreate in are safe.
