State cuts water sampling funds

Santa Rosa County Health Department has been forced to cut back on water sampling as the state has cut back on its budget.

Bill Sirmans, county environmental health director, said the county would still receive federal grant money for water sampling but would no longer receive state funding.

"The state budget is being cut and there's just not enough money for everything," he said.

The state was paying for half of the weekly water sampling at seven sites through the Florida Healthy Beaches program and the federal Beaches Environmental Assessment and Coastal Health (BEACH) program was paying for the other half. However, Sirmans said the reduction in funding would only allow the health department to test five sites every other week.

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