No-swim advisory still in effect after sewer overflows into ocean
MIAMI – The recent storms may have caused untreated sewer water to get into the ocean. As a result, a no-swim advisory is in effect for much of Miami beaches.
"When I hear that sewage has been dumped in the ocean, I get very worried," said Heloisa Schurmann with Voice of the Oceans, an organization currently doing a beach cleanup tour that began in Belize and made its way to Miami.
And when Schurmann says sewage dumps she's referring to the no swim advisory recently issued by Miami-Dade County Water and Sewer.
According to the release, heavy rainfalls from the recent storms resulted in localized sewer overflows stretching from Bill Baggs Park to beaches up the coast as far north as the Venetian bridge.
"I was a little bit surprised, but I wasn't too upset. I wasn't planning on going in the water today anyway. I just sat on the sand and read my book all day so," said beachgoer Erin Gallagher.
And while some people did stay out of the water, you could find swimmers on other beaches within the no-swim zone.
"We went down to try to go to the other beach and it was actually shut down because of bacteria or something, so we actually came over here because everyone else was in the water here," said beachgoer Lorenzo Sebastian.
And Sebastian says he didn't mind getting in the water at all.
"I've been through a lot of stuff in my life so I'm pretty sure I'm not gonna die."
Still healthy beach advocates like Schurmann warns against the bigger impact of sewer dumps.
"It's very concerning for me to see people not only swimming but paddling and it's very dangerous because you don't know what kind of contamination you might have in the water," added Schurmann.