HEALTH

Coughing lifeguards leave Martin County beaches; cause of red tide-like irritant unknown

Tyler Treadway
Treasure Coast Newspapers
Dan Nickols of Port St. Lucie relaxes Sunday, Sept. 30, 2018, at Bathtub Beach in Martin County as a single red flag on a lifeguard stand warns of high surf. Lifeguards at Bathtub and Hobe Sound Beach also were on the lookout for a unknown irritant that, like red tide, has caused beachgoers to complain of respiratory problems.

All Martin County beaches are unguarded as of Sunday afternoon because an unknown, airborne irritant has been making lifeguards cough.

The beaches that typically have lifeguards — Hobe Sound Beach, Bathtub Beach, Stuart Public Beach and Jensen Beach Public Beach — remain open, but lifeguards have left their stations.

Lifeguard stands are flying double red flags because of heavy surf and the high risk of rip currents, so beachgoers would be swimming at their own risk, said county spokeswoman Martha Ann Kneiss.

"If people are going to take it upon themselves to swim at these beaches, they need to be awful careful," Kneiss said.

More:Activist Erin Brockovich to take on toxic blue-green algae at Sunday event in Stuart

The strong east wind pushing the waves ashore Sunday was also causing a fine mist over the beach, and water droplets are known to hold toxins from algae blooms.

The county has advised that people with respiratory issues should avoid the beaches.

No beachgoers complained about the conditions, Kneiss said. "It was just the lifeguards. So we decided to leave the beaches unguarded out of an abundance of caution."

Red tide, a marine algae that has been plaguing Southwest Florida's coastline all summer, causes similar symptoms, but Kneiss said there have been no confirmed sightings of red tide "on the East Coast at all."

Palm Beach County closed its beaches Saturday because of similar conditions.

Previously:Red tide advisory issued for two Martin County beaches

Martin County officials have contacted the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission and hope water at the beaches can be tested Monday, Kneiss said.

"The beaches will remain unguarded," Kneiss said Sunday afternoon. "We will continue to monitor conditions and reassess in 24 hours."

Lifeguards at Bathtub and Hobe Sound Beach also ar on the lookout for a unknown irritant that, like red tide, has caused beachgoers to complain of respiratory problems. On Sunday, Sept. 30, 2018, lifeguards at Bathtub and Hobe Sound Beach also were on the lookout for a unknown irritant that, like red tide, has caused beachgoers to complain of respiratory problems.

At Bathtub Beach Sunday morning, Capt. Matthew Sutterfield of Martin County Ocean-Rescue said, "We're taking this seriously. We're not going to play around."

Martin County's guarded beaches were closed to swimming in mid-August because of blue-green algae blooms in the water.

A water sample taken at Bathtub Beach by the Florida Department of Environmental Protection showed the toxin microcystin at a level of 1.2 parts per billion. The World Health Organization considers water with up to 1 part per billion safe to drink.

More: Water at Bathtub Beach slightly toxic, DEP tests show

Later samplings found no algae.

Dan and Judi Nickols, of Port St. Lucie, were enjoying the sun Sunday morning at Bathtub Beach and said they didn't notice any irritants in the air.

"It smells a little fishy," Judi Nickols said, "but not like anything's toxic or rotten."

A blue-green algae warning sign still at the beach since August, however, kept Judi Nickols from swimming.

"I saw that sign and said I'm not getting in the water," she said. "It's a shame because this is a beautiful resource. We love to come out and take advantage of it, but we don't want to come here and get sick."

Dead zone in Gulf

Millions of pounds of fish and sea life, including hundreds of sea turtles, dozens of manatees and dolphins and even a whale shark have been collected from Lee County beaches and shorelines this summer. 

A combination of rotting fish and algae blanketing the bottom of the Gulf of Mexico is creating a dead zone off Southwest Florida, scientists say.

More: Red tide causing dead zone conditions in Gulf of Mexico

Red tide occurs naturally but but explodes when fed by nutrients from farm fields, lawns, golf courses and septic systems.

On Florida's Gulf Coast, the red tide is being fed by blue-green algae in water discharged from Lake Okeechobee into the Caloosahatchee — the same cause of the blue-green algae blooms found in the St. Lucie River this summer.

Those blooms have diminished but are not entirely gone.

More:TCPalm answers your questions about blue-green algae

For updates on conditions at Martin County beaches, call 772-320-3112.