Reported by: AP
Beach closings and warnings due to pollution are down in Florida, according to a new report on beach water quality from the Natural Resources Defense Council.
The report shows a ten percent decline in beach closings and advisories in 2006 compared to the previous year.
A spokeswoman says there were fewer closings mainly because Florida received less rain, which translated into less runoff of polluted water.
Linda Young of the Clean Water Network of Florida says while that's the good news, the bad news is that there were still nearly 27 hundred closings and warnings in 2006.
She argues the Florida Department of Environmental Protection must do a better job controlling the runoff of sewage and storm water.
Beaches in Brevard, Flagler, Indian River, St. Lucie and Hernando Counties had the state’s cleanest beaches last year. Taylor, Dixie, Escambia, Franklin and Wakulla Counties reported the dirtiest.
Log onto http://www.nrdc.org/water/oceans/ttw/sumflo.pdf for more information and a beach-by-beach breakdown of monitoring results.
