64E-9.013. Bathing Places  


Effective on Wednesday, July 20, 2016
  • 1(1) General – 4All public bathing places are required to conduct monitoring for water quality, reporting these results to the department, notice to the department and public notification upon exceedance of water quality violations. As of April 29, 2012, bathing place operation permits are no longer required from the department by law.

    53(2) Operational water quality – The water shall be free of chemical and physical substances known or suspected of being capable of creating toxic reactions or skin or membrane irritations. Algae and aquatic vegetation shall be controlled so that no hazard to bathers results.

    97(a) Bacteriological samples shall be collected by the owner/manager and tested monthly. A set of two samples shall be collected for every 500 feet of shoreline, the samples shall be taken a foot below the surface in three feet of water and at least 25 feet apart. The samples shall be analyzed by a DOH certified laboratory using EPA approved methods for ambient water and the results submitted to the department 168within 10 days 171after the end of the month.

    1771. Should the 180test 181results of these samples exceed 186the standards in subsection 19064E-9.013(3), 191F.A.C., below, 193the county health department shall be notified within 24 hours of receipt 205of results by the owner/manager 210from the lab, and 214re-sampling 215by the owner/manager shall be required 221within 24 hours. All sampling results 227shall be 229submitted to the county health department.

    2352. 236If 24 hour re-sampling is not possible for any reason, then the bathing place owner/manager shall immediately post a No swimming 257advisory 258based upon these initial results during the time period waiting for re-sampling results. If the 24 hour confirmation samples reveal an exceedance of the standards, the 284bathing place owner/manager shall immediately post a No swimming advisory, form DH 4158, Bathing Place Public Health Advisory Sign – Poor Water Quality, 02/13, incorporated by reference and available at 314http://www.flrules.org/Gateway/reference.asp?No=Ref-06899, 316or sustain the already-posted advisory until additional 323testing reveals the water meets 328single sample 330standards again. 332The department shall post the advisory if the owner/manager does not. Only samples collected after the initial advisory shall be used to compare and calculate when the advisory may be rescinded. 363If a pollution source is identified, that source shall be eliminated before rescinding the bathing place advisory.

    380(b) County health departments shall perform an inspection upon receipt of test results exceeding standards, or upon receipt of a complaint from the public concerning safety, sanitation, illness, or water quality, and this inspection may include:

    4161. A site inspection in light of the original sanitary survey, changed natural conditions, changed use conditions, 433and 434originally 435permitted facilities.

    4372. A bacteriological test consisting of the normal monthly sampling requirement. The fecal coliform, 451E. coli 453or enterococci density must not exceed the single sample standards of subsection 46564E-9.013(3), 466F.A.C.

    4673. A water clarity test wherein an 8'' black and white secchi disk shall be visible to a minimum depth of four feet.

    4904. The bathing place shall be posted with an advisory or swimming prohibited, as appropriate, 505by the 507owner/manager or the 510department 511if inspection reveals water clarity violations, 517unsafe bacterial test results, 521or immediate hazards to health or safety such as, but not limited to sewage in water, broken glass, dangerous wildlife, hazardous structural or electrical conditions, toxic algal blooms, or other serious disease agents present.

    5555. Muck or silt shall not be present from the shoreline to a depth of five feet and aquatic vegetation shall be controlled.

    5786. Should an incident or finding of the county health department warrant it, site specific signage shall be provided. The bathing load shall be posted and due consideration shall be given to safety guidelines such as steep slope, diving areas, deep water, underwater obstruction, 622dangerous wildlife, 624or lifeguard not on duty. Additional signage shall be provided if the bathing area is longer than 300 feet.

    6437. Platforms, diving boards, docks, 648beaches 649and walkways shall be kept clean and in good repair. Diving areas shall be readily identified, and shall have and maintain adequate water depth for safe diving based on the depth requirements of public swimming pool construction requirements.

    6878. Glass items and domestic animals are prohibited in the bathing area and on the adjacent beach area.

    7059. Sanitary facilities shall be provided and maintained in good working order with all necessary supplies.

    721(3) Bacteriological Standards 724 725Either 726fecal coliform, 728E. coli, or 731enterococci 732bacteria shall be tested for, at the option of the permit holder. All samples tested will be considered to determine compliance, unless found to be invalid by 759the certified 761lab or county health department. 766The 767enterococci 768density shall not exceed 77261 773colony forming units (CFU) 777per 100 mL 780of water in any single sample; 786or the 788E. coli 790density shall not exceed 235 CFU per 100 mL of 800water in any 803single sample; or the fecal coliform shall not exceed an average of 200 CFU per 818100 819mL of water, nor 400 per 100 mL of water in 10 percent of the samples, nor 800 CFU per 100 mL of water in a single sample. This average shall be expressed as geometric means using at least ten samples per 30 day period. 864Multiple samples collected on any one day during routine monthly sampling shall be arithmetically averaged to determine compliance for the bathing place.

    886Rulemaking Authority 888381.006, 889514.021 FS. 891Law Implemented 893381.006, 894514.021, 895514.03, 896514.031, 897514.04, 898514.05, 899514.06 FS. 901History–New 10-5-93, Formerly 10D-5.142, Amended 12-27-98, 5-27-04, 5-24-09, 7-20-16.

     

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