News of the Nature Coast of Florida

The Citrus County Environmental Health Department on Thursday left in effect its advisory from the last three weeks for the county beach, based on a fourth consecutive set of water samples for enterococci bacteria that were over the state standard.

The county Parks and Recreation Division will continue to post the beach at Ft. Island Gulf Park in Crystal River as closed to swimming until further sampling shows reduced bacterial levels.

Next week’s sampling results by Environmental Health Department will be back by mid to late week, and health department officials will decide at that point whether to continue the advisory another week.

The department warns that presence of the bacteria in water samples indicates that contact with the water may pose an increased risk of infectious disease, particularly for susceptible individuals, according to state standards.

For more information, call the Citrus County Health Department at 352-527-5283 or visit the Department of Health’s Internet Beach Water Quality website www.doh.state.fl.us,( click on the drop down arrow next to “-Choose Subject-”  and then select “Beach Water Quality”).