This week the Loxahatchee River District sampled for red tide, but they say each sample had to be analyzed on the west coast and results took days.
John Brown and his wife go to Jupiter Beach every week.
"Well we are beach people," he said.
But when they attempted to follow their weekly routine, Monday they were told the beach was closed due to an unknown airborne irritant making people sick.
"It sounded like they didn't know what it was," Brown said.
Bud Howard with the Loxahatchee River District says that's because they were waiting on test results.
"This was a bit different," Howard said.
At their lab in Jupiter, they're equipped to test for bacteria levels in the water. However, Howard says red tide is a completely different organism and requires a different analysis. So they collected samples, sent them off to the west coast and from there it was a waiting game.
"These laboratories are inundated with hundreds of samples coming in from all around the state," he said.
Howard says samples taken over the weekend from the Loxahatchee River which feeds into Jupiter Beach showed a high concentration of red tide in the water. They received Wednesday's sample, Friday and that showed a medium concentration.
Howard says as beaches reopen they'll be keeping an eye on the water and working to collect up to date samples.
"We're going to be sampling twice a week and try to keep tuned into what's happening and what do we see in these samples," Howard said.
