Beach water advisory lifted at Lido Casino Beach

Seaweed continues to be a problem along the county’s shoreline. Photo by Norman Schimmel

A beach water advisory for Lido Casino Beach has been lifted, Sarasota County officials announced the evening of Aug. 4.

Sarasota County Health Department officials said they received testing results from samples taken Friday, Aug. 3, that were at a level that met both the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and state recreational water standards. Therefore, residents and visitors may return to swimming and other water sports at Lido Casino Beach, a county news release says.

The “no swim” beach water advisory signage was scheduled to be removed.

The news release offered no speculation as to the cause of the high bacterial levels at that beach late last week. A similar advisory was issued two weeks ago for three other county beaches, then lifted after subsequent testing showed the water was safe again for swimming and other uses.

The Health Department monitors water quality weekly at 16 sites along Sarasota’s 35 miles of beaches. The intent of the program is to provide county residents and visitors with accurate, up-to-date information on the water quality at the beaches, the news release points out.

Residents and visitors may go to www.OurGulfEnvironment.net and click on “water monitoring,” then “bacterial testing” to check beach-water testing results of area Gulf beaches, or call the Health Department’s Environmental Health office at 941-861-6133.