Tropical Storm Debby, which impacted the Manatee County area beginning Aug. 3, caused flooding and infrastructure damage throughout the region, including major disruptions to the area’s sanitary sewer systems.
The reports of sewage overflows into watersheds elevated ongoing concerns about polluted water.
According to reports from the city of Bradenton dated Aug. 4 and Aug. 5 and confirmed by the Florida Department of Environmental Protection, about 25 million gallons of untreated sewage overflowed into local water systems because of the storm.
Another estimated 17 million gallons of spilled sewage was reported by the city of Sarasota, making for combined estimates of about 42 million gallons or just under 100 Olympic-sized swimming pools worth of contaminated water entering Sarasota Bay.
There also were reports of overflows from other counties in the region.
The overflows entered waterways, resulting in millions of gallons of contamination spilling into bodies of water that flow into Sarasota Bay, leading to unease regarding the safety of recreating at beach and bay destinations.
The Islander spoke with Abbey Tyrna, executive director of Suncoast Waterkeeper, a nonprofit organization that monitors local water quality through independent testing, about the storm’s impact.
About the Bradenton pollution, Tyrna on Aug. 13 said, “That’s a lot of sewage and partially treated sewage, all mixed with rainwater. That goes into the Manatee River and that moves with currents to the Gulf.”
Tyrna said her group does not monitor Gulf of Mexico sites but does administer testing in area bays.
Gulf site testing falls under the purview of the Florida Healthy Beach Program run by the Florida Department of Health.
Almost all Gulf beach testing sites monitored by the DOH showed no impairment and no high levels of enterococci bacteria in Aug. 11 and Aug. 13 testing.
However, Palma Sola Bay Causeway North, tested by the DOH, produced higher than acceptable enterococci bacteria levels and was under a health advisory, according to the DOH website Aug. 13.
Tyrna said the Gulf sites flush more readily due to their exposure to large volumes of open water.
“We can say for certain that the bay has a whole different hydrologic exchange rate than the Gulf,” Tyrna said. “When we did (bay) sampling, we found there was high fecal indicator bacteria at almost all of our monitored locations and it has been consistently high.”
Waterkeeper tests at 11 bay sites in Manatee and Sarasota County waters.
Test results in Manatee County Aug. 7 showed “don’t swim” levels at Robinson Preserve and Palma Sola North in Bradenton.
The Historic Bridge Street Pier in Bradenton Beach and the Longboat Key Boat Ramp on Longboat Key showed results in the “take caution” levels.
Tyrna said decaying plant matter can worsen the results of testing for enterococcus bacteria, which is indicative of fecal contamination and can pose health risks to people, including gastrointestinal issues and skin infections.
“When you have decaying plant matter, that can really concentrate those bacteria and it really can provide a nice refuge for it and you can get really elevated concentrations,” she said.
The elevated levels detected by Suncoast Waterkeeper led Tyrna to advise caution for people engaging in recreational activities in the bays.
“The health risks associated with these elevated bacteria levels are significant, particularly for vulnerable populations like children and the elderly,” she continued.
Several families in Anna Maria, Holmes Beach and also in the Palma Sola area following the storm reported staph infections in their children, which they attributed to exposure to contaminated waters during flooding associated with Debby.
Christy Raulerson of Holmes Beach said her children developed staph infections after playing in standing water.
“We’ve been through many storms out here and usually we will let them take their kayaks out and paddle around in the storm waters,” Raulerson said in an Aug 13 interview with The Islander. “The kids were playing in a puddle. This is water that had collected from overflow from the canal and rainwater from the street.”
Raulerson, who lives on 74th Street in Holmes Beach, said her son Samuel, 8, had had a cut above his ear and a small cut above his eyebrow that she was monitoring before the storm.
The morning after the children had been playing in the water, she checked the cut on Samuel’s ear and found it was red and swollen, with puss-filled bumps.
Raulerson took Samuel to an emergency clinic and was told he had a Staph infection and he would need antibiotics.
Infections caused by Staphylococcus aureus can be caused by exposure to harmful bacteria in polluted water, including while swimming, canoeing or surfing, according to the National Institute of Health.
Raulerson’s older son, Jeremiah, 10, developed a staph infection on his arms and legs.
Raulerson connected The Islander with friends who experienced similar infections, including the Hood family of Palma Sola, who reported their sons, Everett, 9, and Charlie, 6, experienced symptoms of staph infections after playing in bay waters near Bayfront Park in Anna Maria after the storm.
Charlie’s infection was mostly healed Aug. 15 but Everett was placed on a stronger course of antibiotics, according to Raulerson.
The Kesten family in northwest Bradenton also faced health issues after the storm, when Ruby, 9, developed staph-based cellulitis on her foot.
Kim Kesten, Ruby’s mom, said she discovered the infection after she and her children visited Bishop Point east of Desoto National Memorial in Bradenton, where they waded in the shallow river water near an area littered with dead fish.
Raulerson said she submitted a report to the DOH about the infections.
The Manatee County Health Department issued advisories and warnings to avoid the potentially contaminated waters of Palma Sola Bay as of Aug. 13.
The Islander reached out to the DOH for comment Aug. 12 but, as of press time, there was no reply.
Meanwhile, Suncoast Waterkeeper continued to monitor Sarasota Bay, encouraging people to exercise caution.
Water quality levels
Safe to swim: 0-35 cells of enterococci bacteria per 100 milliliters of marine water.
Take caution: 36-70 cells per 100 milliliters of marine water.
Unsafe to swim: 71 cells or more per 100 milliliters of marine water or higher.
Source: Florida Department of Health
Testing at a glance
State testing as of Aug. 13:
Florida Department of Health locations in Manatee County monitored by the department as of Aug. 13 showed enterococcus but indicate safe water quality or 0-35 cells per 100 milliliters of marine water:
- Broadway Beach (Whitney Beach), Longboat Key.
- Coquina Beach North, Bradenton Beach.
- Coquina Beach South, Bradenton Beach.
- Cortez Beach, Bradenton Beach.
- Manatee Public Beach North, Holmes Beach.
- Bayfront Park North, Anna Maria.
However, Palma Sola South, an embayment west of Bradenton connected to Sarasota Bay, showed results greater than 71 cells per 100 milliliters of marine water. The area was under a no swim advisory, per the DOH, on Aug. 13.
Suncoast Waterkeeper testing:
As of Aug. 7, Robinson Preserve, Bradenton, 3,333 cells per 100 milliliters of marine water.
Aug. 15: 3,877 cells per 100 milliliters of marine water.
As of Aug. 7, Palma Sola Causeway North, Bradenton, 2,638 cells per 100 milliliters of marine water.
Aug. 15: 3,578 cells per 100 milliliters of marine water.
As of Aug. 7, Historic Bridge Street Pier, Bradenton Beach, 51 cells per 100 milliliters of marine water.
Aug. 15: 826 cells per 100 milliliters of marine water.
As of Aug. 7, Longboat Key Boat Ramp, Longboat Key, 41 cells per 100 milliliters per 100 of marine water.
Aug. 15: 4,611 cells per 100 milliliters per 100 of marine water.
Read hurricane news at https://www.islander.org/hurricanes/.