On Friday, Barbara Albrecht of the Bream Fishermen Association and Joseph Moss and Jane M. Caffrey of Center for Environmental Diagnostics and Bioremediation University of West Florida sent to the city their technical report – “Identifying Stormwater Sources of Microbial Contamination at Bruce Beach.”
The report made these recommendations:
- Locations with consistently high Enterococcus counts (e.g., Reus and Zarragossa) should be the highest priority for identifying the exact source of these levels. Further studies with the City of Pensacola and Emerald Coast Utility Authority (ECUA) engineers will be needed.
- Improve infrastructure to minimize public exposure to potential pathogens:
- Minimize infiltration into stormwater pipes (missing or cracked mortar),
- Add bathrooms at Bruce Beach to prevent local sources of human waste at the park, and
- Reconfigure stormwater outfalls into Pensacola Bay to minimize intrusion of Bay water into drains.