The Blue Water Task Force is Surfrider’s volunteer water quality monitoring program that provides critical water quality information to protect public health at the beach. Surfrider chapters use this program to raise awareness of local pollution problems and to bring together communities to implement solutions.
Blue Water Task Force (BWTF) labs measure fecal indicator bacteria levels in recreational waters and compare them to water quality standards set to protect public health. Chapter-run BWTF programs fill in the gaps and extend the coverage of agency-run beach monitoring programs by sampling ocean and bay beaches, estuaries and potential freshwater sources of pollution such as stormwater outlets, rivers and creeks that discharge onto the beach.
View Your Local Space Coast Water Quality
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Water quality testing provided by Surfrider's {{info.name}} Chapter
Since the inception of the Blue Water Task Force program more than 25 years ago, Surfrider volunteers have been out in their communities testing water quality at the beach. Now a large national network with nearly 55 chapter-run labs, the Blue Water Task Force measures bacteria levels at more than 450 ocean, bay, estuary and freshwater sampling sites across the country.
Surfrider Foundation Space Coast partners with Marine Resources Council (MRC) to test our waters for bacteria levels to raise awareness of our local pollution problems and to bring together communities to implement solutions. This collaborative program provides the public with year-round water quality information at ocean and intracoastal recreational locations.
Last fall, our chapter and MRC presented water quality data to the FL Department of Environmental Protection Agency to illustrate some consistent pollution problems. In response to this data, the State has initiated a source tracking investigation in local estuaries to test a suite of parameters such as human/dog/ruminant/bird waste, chemicals excreted through pharmaceutical waste, pesticides, and herbicides.
For more information or questions: Kris Baker, Blue Water Task Force Chapter Coordinator bwtf@spacecoast.surfrider.org
Everyone deserves access to clean water to surf, swim and play in.
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