Swim at your own risk

Remember that scene from “Caddyshack” where a young girl drops an unwrapped chocolate bar into a crowded public swimming pool on a hot summer day, causing everyone to leap out of the water in alarm to avoid the “doodie”?

A Baby Ruth bobbing in bathing waters made for great comedy, especially after Bill Murray, tasked with draining the pool for sanitary purposes, discovers the offending element is harmless and consumes it as onlookers pass out from shock.

It’s not so funny, however, when we’re talking about the Gulf. And when the floater is not a candy bar, but the real thing.

On the day before the 4th of July, traditionally one of the biggest beach days of the year here, the state Department of Health sent out an advisory warning that four of the state’s beaches posed health hazards for visitors due to high fecal levels. Three of those beaches, where the levels of bacteria ranked “poor,” were in Sarasota County.

The advisory was quick to assure that a “rapid response team” had determined the cause was “likely due to natural sources” rather than sewage spills (of which there had been none for a whole two weeks) and that it affected only Brohard, Lido Casino and Venice beaches. A friend living across the street from the bay in Indian Shores, who canceled our kayaking plans because “the water here smells like (doodie),” might have begged to differ.

On the heels of this unpleasant reality came dire warnings of another water hazard, after several beachgoers developed necrotizing fasciitis following visits to beaches from Siesta Key to Anna Maria. (One woman subsequently died.) This infection, which is rare, can be caused by many types of everyday bacteria, according to Colleen Kraft, an infectious disease doctor at Emory University — including, for example, the E. coli found in “doodies.”

Tom Higginbotham, Sarasota’s environmental administrator for the DOH, emphasized the beaches in question remained open, but urged visitors not to “wade, swim or engage in water recreation” until the advisory was lifted (i.e., the contaminants were diluted). In other words, you could do whatever you wanted to do on a stifling day at the beach except cool off with a dip.

These warnings of poor water quality, fairly regular of late, invariably come with admonitions for residents to “work together to preserve this amenity,” by not allowing children in diapers to enter the water or refraining from taking dogs to the beach (where they are mostly forbidden anyway). Puh-leeze. Might there not be some bigger fish to fry? (That is, if you still dare to eat them in the first place).

There seems to be a consistent disconnect between our high priority of promoting Sarasota Bay for recreation and our low priority of insuring its waters remain usable. Somehow, we can make a commitment to invest in a multimillion-dollar project like The Bay, but when it comes to an advanced water treatment plant or more septic conversions, the price tag is always too high.

At a City Commission meeting in June, Utilities Director Bill Reibe introduced a Utilities Master Plan for the city, designed to replace aging pipes and update other infrastructure before problems occur. (“Problems” is a euphemism for doodie discharges and water main breaks.) Reibe said this comprehensive and proactive plan — estimated to cost $298.5 million over 11 years and potentially double residents’ utility bills — is simply common sense and contains no “fluff.”

“It’s like repairing your car one piece at a time,” he added. “It’s easier to do systematic renewal and replacement. It’s the same concept.”

Commissioner Hagen Brody cautioned about rushing into “a $300 million decision,” saying he’d like to explore alternative funding to take the financial weight off residents. I appreciate that. But how much longer can we afford to kick the can down the road?

No one’s dying to see their utility bill jump from $80 to more than $120 (the average expected increase) by 2030. Yet readers regularly tell me preserving our water quality is a priority they’re willing to pay for. Hopefully they will turn out at the July 15 commission meeting where the “revised plan” will be discussed.

Let’s be frank. We are at this point because we’ve failed to sufficiently plan ahead, invest in adequate infrastructure over time and regulate growth to match capacity. That has put our greatest asset at risk. It’s time to acknowledge we no longer have any time to waste.

Contact columnist Carrie Seidman at carrie.seidman@heraldtribune.com or 941-361-4834. Follow her on Twitter @CarrieSeidman and Facebook at facebook.com/cseidman.

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