For those who enjoy Florida’s beaches, understanding the risks of swimming from one day to another has been murky at best. It seems that everyone knows someone who has experienced some type of illness, skin irritation or worse, after an otherwise picturesque day visiting the beach in the Sunshine State. These less-than-perfect beach days are due in large part to pollution from sewage, whether from sewage spills or overflows from failing or aging wastewater infrastructure, which contain bacteria, viruses and parasites that are harmful to human health.
Compounding this problem is the lack of public information and inconsistent notification of crucial public health data generated by water quality testing in Florida’s coastal waters. A law passed by the Florida Legislature in 2024 aimed to change that. State lawmakers passed House Bill 165 , also known as the Safe Waterways Act, in March.
Practically speaking, the bill would have required: The bill was a true example of bipartisanship, with a coalition of Republican and Democratic leaders alike keen on addressing the public health deficiencies of the state’s beach water quality monitoring program. Spearheaded by state Reps. Peggy Gossett-Seidman, R-Highland Beach, and Lindsay Cross, D-St.
Petersburg, and state Sens. Lori Berman, D-Lantana, and Ana Maria Rodriguez, R-Doral, the legislation passed unanimously in the Florida House and Senate. HB165 is a testament of the importance of clean water and public health to lawmakers .