Florida’s canals and city parks have fecal bacteria in them. The cause is rising ocean levels and intense rainfall events that cause saturated septic systems to spread.
In Miami’s upmarket Coral Gables district, a couple were walking their golden retrievers in the first rays of sunshine. They suddenly stopped in front of a young woman handling plastic bottles. On the banks of a canal that flows into Biscayne Bay, Aliza Karim dipped a probe into the brownish water.
Every week, the biologist from the Miami Waterkeeper organization analyzes samples in the lab. While the city authorities constantly monitor swimming waters, the association itself looks into sampling some 30 sites in parks and along the many canals that flow into Biscayne Bay. “We measure oxygen levels and water quality. We look for enterococci, which are indicators of fecal contamination.”
During heavy rainfall, some neighborhoods overflow with nutrient-rich sludge (nitrogen, phosphates, etc.) and bacteria that are indicative of the presence of human or animal fecal matter. “The nutrients cause deoxygenation or green algae blooms, while the bacteria pose a public health problem for us,” explained Roy Coley, head of the Miami-Dade County Wastewater Department. In short, Miami residents regularly have their golf shoes in their feces!
R&I ~ MJM
james blue
Article URL : https://www.lemonde.fr/en/m-le-mag/article/2024/01/02/miami-is-overwhelmed-by-its-septic-tanks_6394160_117.html