BRADENTON – Florida Department of Health in Manatee County (DOH-Manatee) has issued a no-swim advisory for the beach on the south side of the Palma Sola Causeway along Manatee Avenue.
“A no-swim advisory is issued when enterococci bacteria levels exceed Federal Guidelines for safe swimming. It is thought that contact with the water at the site could make beachgoers sick,” a DOH-Manatee press release said.
The advisory will be in effect until the water meets Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) safety guidelines.
No other Manatee County beaches are under the no-swim advisory.
As a participant in the Healthy Beaches Program, DOH-Manatee collects water samples at select beaches each week. The samples are then sent to labs to determine if the levels of enteric bacteria (enterococci) – which can bring human disease, infections or rashes – are acceptable based on EPA standards.
If levels are read as unacceptable, a no-swim advisory is issued; a no-swim advisory is lifted once the levels read as acceptable.
DOH-Manatee received test results from samples taken at Palma Sola South on June 19 and June 22 that show an elevated level of enterococci bacteria.
Additional information about the Healthy Beaches program can be found by calling (941) 714-7593, or by visiting the Florida Department of Health’s website at www.FloridaHealth.gov and selecting Beach Water Quality under the Environmental Health tab of the navigation bar.
BRADENTON – Anyone who’s traveled the Palma Sola Scenic Highway has seen the roadside businesses popping up along Manatee Avenue – kayak, paddleboard, horseback riding and now, Jet Ski rentals.
While the Palma Sola Scenic Highway Corridor Management Entity (CME) can’t stop the businesses from being there, they are working to reduce the visual impact on the scenic highway. Members met Aug. 10 to discuss improvements planned for the roadside and how they can help reduce the impact of the various businesses that have sprung up along the causeway’s beach areas.
The scenic highway stretches along Manatee Avenue from 75th Street in Bradenton to East Bay Drive in Holmes Beach with plans to extend it to Manatee Beach in the near future. One of the most picturesque sections of the scenic highway is the Palma Sola Causeway Beach with water views on both sides of the road.
During their quarterly meeting, members noted that in addition to the horseback riding, kayak and paddleboard rentals already taking place in the area, motorized watercraft rentals also have sprung up – along with other vendors – on the side of the road. While the CME’s members cannot prevent businesses from using the causeway as long as cash does not exchange hands there, they can enforce existing sign regulations in the area.
Members of the Palma Sola CME are engaging local code enforcement officers to crack down on business signage along the causeway. – Kristin Swain | Sun
Co-chairs of the committee Ingrid McClellan and Craig Keys said they’d be willing to speak with vendors along the causeway and city of Bradenton code enforcement officials about the proliferation of signage in the area. No advertising signage is allowed on the scenic highway and, while McClellan said they’d been allowing businesses to slide with sandwich board signs, she’s noticed much larger business signs being used, including banners and flag signs that are pushed into the ground.
Members of the group agreed to not allow any business signage on the causeway going forward unless it’s small and a part of a vehicle.
Other improvements
Members also agreed to crack down on overnight parking and camping on the causeway and at the Palma Sola Boat Ramp. McClellan said she’d noticed some boats that are moored just off the causeway beach, and while the group cannot stop that activity, she said vehicles belonging to the boat owners have been parked long-term on the causeway.
“We are not their parking lot,” she said. The group agreed to reach out to the Bradenton Police Department and code enforcement to see if the vehicle owners could be notified that they’re not allowed to park overnight on the causeway or if the vehicles can be ticketed.
Improvements planned for the scenic highway include the addition of new, larger trash cans, a refresh of the mural on the park’s restroom facilities and the replacement of bollards along the shoreline.
CME members also discussed the possibility of having a crosswalk with flashing beacons installed across Manatee Avenue near the restroom facilities.
MANATEE COUNTY – The boat that’s been a fixture on the south side of the Palma Sola Causeway beach on Manatee Avenue for several days is expected to soon be gone.
Manatee County Information Outreach Manager Nicholas Azzara said that the owner of the beached vessel, the “Viva! Viva!,” has been located by the county’s marine resources team and confirmed that the owner does have plans to repair and remove the vessel from the public beach as quickly as possible.
Azzara said that in conversations with the boat owner, county representatives determined that there were extenuating circumstances leading to the boat’s prolonged stay on the sand. Because the vessel isn’t considered abandoned or derelict, there are no plans for Manatee County or Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission officials to remove the boat.
To help reduce the owner’s liability due to the public curiosity the beached vessel has garnered, Azzara said the owner has arranged for caution tape and signage to be placed on the vessel noting that it is private property. The public is asked to not trespass on the beached vessel.
If the blue and white boat looks familiar, it’s the same one that has floated at anchor on the north side of the causeway for the past few years. The boat appeared on the beach after a windstorm the week of Feb. 1 and has been there ever since. While no date has been announced for the removal of the boat, the situation is expected to be remedied by the boat’s owner as quickly as possible. At this point, Azzara said Florida state boaters’ rights limit the county to working with the boat owner to limit public access to the vessel and on the removal of the boat.
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