Navarre Park swimming area back open

Water testing results Tuesday confirmed the Sound near Navarre Park was safe to swim in once again.

The Santa Rosa County Health Department issued a water quality advisory July 28 for Navarre Park on Highway 98 in Navarre. The Park is located behind the Navarre Beach Area Visitor Center.

Bill Sirmans, Santa Rosa County Health Department environmental health director, said the park is one of seven locations sampled every week to check on bacteria levels.

“Most of the time it’s fine if there hasn’t been any rain,” he said. “But we know the sample was probably bad because of all the rain and runoff we’ve had.”

Sirmans said a grab sample taken July 25 showed higher levels of Enterococcus, fecal bacteria found in humans and many animals. Additional testing on July 27 confirmed the same results causing the health department to close the park. The advisory expired Tuesday afternoon when new water samples showed the bacteria levels had returned to normal.

During the advisory, the health department advised against any water-related activities at this location due to the potential for high bacteria levels. Bacteriological sampling conducted during weekly water quality monitoring showed that the level of bacteria exceeds the level established by state guidelines.

The health department will continue to monitor the water quality in this area weekly and routinely advise the public of the results.

For more information, contact the Santa Rosa County Health Department’s Environmental Health Division at 850-983-5275.