WATER QUALITY PROGRAM
IS YOUR WATER CLEAN?
Tampa Bay Waterkeeper tests and reports the bacteria levels of your favorite waterways bi-weekly. On our free app called Swim Guide, we make it easy for you to access all reporting agencies including TBWK testing results, the Department of Health’s (DOH's) Healthy Beaches testing results, and the City of St. Petersburg Environmental Compliance Division's testing results.
EPA has set the following standards for water considered safe for swimming, which are used by DOH and Tampa Bay Waterkeeper:
0-70 CFU/MPN per 100 mL enterococci per sample: Safe for swimming
70+ CFU/MPN per 100 mL enterococci per sample: Not safe for swimming
HOW DO I FIND THE LATEST WATER QUALITY RESULTS?
Check out Swim Guide! You can download the Swim Guide app here or visit the website, or just keep scrolling.
Swim Guide is a popular tool for water lovers. Swim Guide will help you to identify at a glance which beaches are safe for swimming (Green) and which have current water quality problems (Red). Some sites are also in “special status” if pollution or safety events mean that you shouldn’t swim.
WATER QUALITY LEGEND:
Current Status: Water quality samples were collected within the last 7 days.
Green = Beach met water quality standards
Red Circle = Beach failed to meet water quality standards
Red Triangle = Beach has a special closure status
Historic Status: When a beach's water quality data has not been updated within the past 7 days it goes into historical status. This means that rather than displaying current data it displays the beach's average water quality for that year.
Green = Beach passed water quality standards 95% of the time
Red Circle = Beach passed water quality standards 60-94% of the time
Yellow = Beach failed water quality standards less than 40% of the time
WHERE IS THE DATA?
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Tampa Bay Waterkeeper testing results data can be found here.
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Department of Health Healthy Beaches testing results data can be found on their webpage.
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The City of St. Petersburg Environmental Compliance Division testing results data can be found on Pinellas County Water Atlas.
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TBWK Quality Assurance Project Plan can be found here.
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Watch our procedure for collecting water samples here.
SPONSOR A SITE NEAR YOU!
You can sponsor water quality monitoring at any of our current sites for just $2,000 a year or $170 a month. A sponsorship provides funding for the laboratory supplies, analysis, equipment, and experienced staff that make our water quality monitoring program possible. To acknowledge your sponsorship, you will have a web linked banner ad on our Swim Guide app and be recognized on this webpage and through our social media platforms.
For more information see our sponsorship guide or contact us at victoriagambale@tampabaywaterkeeper.org.
DISCLAIMER: The information contained on this website is for informational purposes only. All sites monitored are natural waterbodies and contaminants are present from a wide variety of sources! Local conditions fluctuate, sometimes dramatically, and especially after rainfall events. The results displayed above are only representative of the exact time, date and location at which the sample was taken and do not represent the water quality between sampling events or at other locations nearby. Users of these data should not assume that a “low” enterococci level means that it is necessarily safe or risk-free to make contact with the water. Enterococci is not the only contaminant of concern for recreational users and is used merely as an indicator of potential fecal contamination. Tampa Bay Waterkeeper, their directors, and agents can provide no guaranty of water safety and, as such, the user assumes all risks associated with the use of these data and swimming.